Northern Michigan University’s Dylan Kuehl, top, leaps high to take a shot over a defender during a GLIAC men’s basketball game played against Saginaw Valley State at Vandament Arena in Marquette on Jan. 18. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)

MARQUETTE — With the GLIAC race tightening up, the games start to mean even more for teams like the Northern Michigan University men’s basketball team as the second half of the conference season begins tonight at Vandement Arena in Marquette.

The Wildcats are in a three-way tie for third place at 6-4, two games behind tri-leaders Ferris State, Lake Superior State and Michigan Tech.

NMU (12-6 overall) hosts one of the teams it is tied with, Grand Valley State, at 7:30 p.m. today, then hosts last-place Davenport at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Lakers are 6-4 in the league and 10-8 overall, while the Panthers are actually tied for the bottom spot with Purdue Northwest at 1-9, 5-13 overall.

Both games can be watched on the FloSports app and are available on radio station WUPT 100.3 FM The Point.

Or fans can follow @NMU_MensBBALL and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly Twitter) for updates leading up to and during games, or visit the NMU athletics website at nmuwildcats.com and look under the men’s basketball schedule for links to live video, live audio, live statistics, ticket information, the weekend program, game previews and series histories.

The Wildcats are coming off a pair of road losses at two nationally ranked opponents who are among the three leaders in the conference. NMU lost at No. 8 Ferris State 85-79 last Thursday and at No. 14 Lake Superior State 79-49 on Saturday.

“It’s going to take a better effort on defense if we are going to beat them here,” Northern head coach Matt Majkrzak said in an NMU Sports Information news release previewing the games. “We played pretty well on offense down there, but lately our offense hasn’t been as good.

“So we have to go into it with the mentality that if we don’t play well on offense, how do we still win?”

The Wildcats are only eighth in the 11-team league in scoring at 72.4 points per game, but second in scoring defense at 68.1 ppg, which is also 42nd nationally.

They also allow a league-low 31.9 rebounds a game with a plus-3.6 margin. And NMU is third in the league with 7.1 steals per game and second in turnover margin at plus-1.72 per contest.

Dylan Kuehl is 10th in conference scoring, averaging 15.3 ppg. The two-time GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week has scored in double figures in 17 of 18 games while shooting at least 50% in 12 of those. In conference games only, he is eighth in scoring at 16.0 ppg and third in field goal percentage at 49.6%.

Julien Smith is second in scoring on the team, averaging 11.2 ppg, while Sam Privet is third at 10.4 ppg. Gerald Gittens Jr. and Cal Klesmit each average 8.7 ppg.

GVSU is on a four-game winning streak, actually the longest current string in the league, after downing Roosevelt 76-70, Wisconsin-Parkside 59-49 and Purdue Northwest 83-64 last week.

The Lakers’ Trevor Smith Jr. was named the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week after making seven steals, three blocks, scoring 39 points and dishing out 15 assists in the three games.

With a 6-3 record away from home, Grand Valley is fifth in the league in both scoring offense and defense, at 75.4 ppg for and 69.8 ppg against.

Kaden Brown (13.5 ppg), William Dunn (12.0) and Jalen Charity (10.7) all average in double figures and have played every game for the Lakers. GVSU has the ability to get hot from deep, with five games this season hitting 10-plus 3-pointers while shooting at least 40%.

NMU is 37-58 all-time vs. the Lakers. GVSU has won four of the last six and defeated NMU in two of three meetings since the start of last season — the Lakers won 106-99 in two overtimes in the 2023-24 regular season and 99-77 in the GLIAC Tournament, both in Marquette. NMU was victorious 78-70 in the matchup at Allendale earlier this season. Kuehl scored 21 points to lead all scorers that day.

Davenport has lost six straight after pulling off an overtime upset win at Michigan Tech earlier this month. Last weekend, DU lost 80-59 to Purdue NW and 72-64 to Parkside. The Panthers are 1-6 away from home.

DU averages 67.3 ppg for and 70.1 ppg against and are last in the conference in shooting at 42.1% on all field goals.

Senior guard Jovan Tucker is eighth in the league in scoring at 15.6 ppg, while Joey Cabana (11.0) and Matyas Vrabel (10.2) are also in double figures. Vrabel is third in the conference with 7.1 rebounds a contest.

NMU is 15-3 all-time vs. Davenport, winning the last five games by an average of better than 15 points. Northern defeated the Panthers 60-52 on Jan. 2, with Kuehl pacing all scorers with 19 points.

Story contents based on Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release previewing the games. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.