ESCANABA, Mich. — A strong second half push was all the Milwaukee Area Technical College men's basketball team needed to pick up a much needed win against North Central Michigan College during the Terrace Bay Hotel Holiday Classic this past weekend.

Entering Friday's matchup at 4-10, the Stormers completely flipped the script in the second half after facing a 34-32 halftime deficit. MATC traded blows, falling behind as much as 11 points midway through the second half, before storming all the way back to claim a 82-77 road win on Dec. 13 to improve to 5-10.

Trailing 65-54 with 11:11 remaining, the Stormers' mustered up a 16-5 run primarily led by freshman Noah Daniels, who scored six of his 15 points during the run. The sudden momentum shift allowed MATC to play confidently down the stretch, which resulted in them closing the game on a 12-7 run over the final 10 minutes to seal the victory.

The Stormers received a huge offensive boost from their bench. They outscored North Central Michigan 34-3 in bench points, with freshman Matthew Hoarde leading the way with 16 points as a reserve. Sophomore Oluwamayowa Akinsipe also found himself in double figures off the bench, totaling 10 points and seven rebounds.

As a team, MATC shot 43.1 percent (31-of-72) from the field and 32 percent from deep (8-of-25).

STAT BOOK
Daniels led the Stormers with 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Sophomore Antonio Foxwell added 13 points, seven rebounds and one steal. Freshman Julian Valentine tallied 10 points, five rebounds and a pair of assists. Freshman Kamarion Ivory chipped in eight points and three steals off the bench.