MIDLAND, Mich. - The Lake Superior State men's basketball team earned an 81-52 win over the Northwood Timberwolves on Saturday, Feb. 12 in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) game at the Riepma Arena in Midland, Mich. With the victory, the Lakers overall record improves to 15-7 and 10-6 in conference play.
First Half:
Malek Adams scored a layup to score the first two points of the game to give the Lakers a 2-0 lead in the opening minute of the game. The Timberwolves responded with an eight-point run to lead the Lakers 8-2 within the first three minutes of the play.
Lake State answered by scoring 14 of the game's next 16 points to hold a 14-10 lead with 14:13 left in the half. Adams scored a pair of threes in the run while Justin Fischer added two layups for the Lakers as well. The Timberwolves would pull back within two points but the Lakers would maintain the lead, as the visiting team scored the next eight points in the game. Kemon Bassett and David Wren each recorded four points as the Lakers held a double-digit lead (22-12) by the halfway point of the opening twenty minutes of play.
With 4:16 left in the first half, the Lakers still held their double-digit lead over Northwood as Adams made his team-leading third three-pointer of the game to put his team ahead 33-22. However, the Timberwolves would cut the lead to two points by the time there was two minutes left in the half after the team went on a nine-point rally (33-31).
The Lakers added the final five points of the half, with Bassett scoring four of the points, to take a seven-point lead into the second half (38-31).
Second Half:
Northwood recorded the first points of the second half when Kenny Ganley Jr. made a layup at 18:35 to cut the home team's deficit to five points (38-33). But, the Lakers would not allow the Timberwolves to come any closer to evening the game. By the time three minutes of play had passed, the Lakers had regained their double-digit lead. C.J. Robinson scored on a three-point shot to put LSSU ahead by 11 points, 45-34.
The Laker offense would control the game as play continued and with 13:35 left in the game, the Lakers had extended their lead to 16 points (56-40) when Wren made a jump shot. Wren's jumper kicked off a run of 19 consecutive points by the Lakers. Xander Okerlund's three pointer at 8:27 of the second half capped off the scoring run as the Lakers went up, 73-40, over Northwood.
Lake Superior State held off the Timberwolves in the final minutes of play to secure their fifth straight win by a score of 81-52.
Breaking Down the Win: The Lakers had point contributions from nine different players, with Adams and Bassett each posting 20 or more points in the win. Adams led the team with 21 points as he went 5-for-11 in the game, including 4-for-7 from three to lead the Lakers. Adams made seven of the eight free throws he took in the game and also added six rebounds. Wren (12 points) and Fischer (10 points) rounded out the Lakers double-digit scorers in the victory.
Fischer led the Lakers with seven rebounds while Bassett's five assists and three steals paced the Lakers in both categories.
The Lakers finished the game with a 52.7 shooting percentage, going 29-for-55 in the game. On the other end of the floor, the Timberwolves went 24-for-57 in the game to total a 43.8 shooting percentage. Lake Superior State outrebounded Northwood, 38-21, in the game.
What's Next
The Lakers will continue their conference season on the road next weekend against the Purdue Northwest Pride and Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers. The game against the Pride will take place on Thursday, Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the John Friend Court in Hammond, Ind. while the meeting against the Rangers is set for a 4:00 p.m. EST tipoff on Saturday, Feb. 19 at the De Simone Gymnasium in Kenosha, Wisc.
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