ASHLAND, Ohio â€Â“ What looked like a week or soago that the Northern Michigan University menâ€Â™s basketball team might not win agame in the GLIAC is not true.  NMU won their second GLIAC game in a row onSaturday afternoon at Ashland University 67-55.  With the win the â€Â˜Cats are now7-10 overall on the season and 2-6 in the GLIAC.  Head Coach Dean Ellis is onewin away from 300 career wins and two wins away from being the all-timewinningest coach in NMU history. 

NMU led the entire game as they got out of the gates with a24-2 run the first 10 plus minutes of the game.  NMU had a 16-point lead beforethe Eagles even got on the board.  Matt LePage had seven of the first 16 pointsfor the game.  AU scored their first basket at 14:55 of the first half.  LePageadded a bucket at 9:54 to give the â€Â˜Cats a 20-point lead at 22-2.  NMU held adouble-digit lead the rest of the way and led at halftime by a 33-20 score. The â€Â˜Cats were 15-32 from the floor for the first half for 46.9 percent.  NMUâ€Â™sdefense held the Eagles to 31 percent shooting from the floor on 9-29.

The â€Â˜Cats in the second half again made their shots and keptthe lead at double-digits until AU cut the margin to 55-47 with 6:23 left inthe game.  The Eagles went on a mini run, but the â€Â˜Cats answered when LePagemade a three-pointer and Ricky Volcy hit a jumper.  Jake Suardini and RyanReichel made a couple of free throws down the stretch. 

LePage led all scorers with a career-high 24 points, sixrebounds and four steals.  R. Volcy was the other â€Â˜Cat in double-figures with12 points and a game-high eight rebounds and six assists.  For the game theâ€Â˜Cats had 11 steals as a team. 

NMU ended the game shooting 45.8 percent from the floor(27-59), 24 percent from the three-point line (6-25) and 50 percent from thecharity stripe (7-14).  The â€Â˜Cats were very active on the boards as they had 14on the offensive glass and 43 overall to out-rebound the Eagles by nine for thegame.

NMU will face Lake Superior State on Thursday (Jan. 27)which will begin a two-game home stand for the team.