SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State men's basketball team clinched a last second win over the Wayne State Warriors by a final score of 74-73 in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) contest on Thursday, Jan. 30 in Detroit, Mich.
The first half was evenly contested between the Lakers and the Warriors as the twenty minutes ended with Wayne State up 35-33 over Lake State. Five minutes into the game, the Lakers trailed 10-8 thanks to scoring from Ke'Montrece Collins, Justin Fischer, and Ashton Sherrell. Brandon Allen made a three-point shot at 13:30 of the game to put the Lakers ahead by a point (13-12) and then would add another three-point basket a minute later to once again put the Lakers up by a point (16-15).
At the halfway mark of the first half, the Lakers held a 22-20 score advantage as freshman Xander Okerlund added three points for Lake State. The game would then go for a two minute stretch with no scoring from either team before the Warriors scored nine straight points to go up by seven points (29-22).
The Lakers would then receive a spark from freshman guard Nigel Colvin as he scored seven of the Lakers next nine points as the would be tied at 31 with 2:45 left in the half. The first twenty would end with the Warriors leading 35-33.
Colvin tied the game for the Lakers at 35 at 18:51 of the second half. Collins and Colvin would then each make three-point shots to extend the Lakers lead to six points. After seven minutes of action in the half, the Lakers were able to build their advantage to nine points, holding Wayne State's offense at bay.
Freshman Dan Few gave the Lakers a double digit lead at 12:18 of the second half when he made a layup to put the team ahead 53-42. The Warriors would respond with four points to cut the lead to seven points but the Lakers would answer back with back-to-back threes from Collins and Okerlund. With 10 minutes left in the game, the Lakers were ahead 59-46.
With 5:29 left in the game, the Warriors began a late rally looking to surmount the Lakers lead. Brailen Neely and Karim Murray combined for a run of 11 straight points for the Warriors to tie the game at 66 points with 2:46 left in regulation time.
Colvin sunk a three-point shot with 2:32 left to put the Lakers back up by three points 69-66 but Neely would answer with a layup to bring the Warriors back within a point. Justin Fischer would make a free throw for a 70-68 Lakers advantage but Neely responded with two straight free throws to even the game at 70. Fischer answered right back with a layup to give the Lakers a 72-70 lead with 1:19 left in the game.
Murray would then tie the game at 72 before adding a free throw to take a 73-72 lead with :21 seconds left to play. Collins would make a layup with :07 seconds left on the clock to put the Lakers up by a point, 74-73, which would stand as the final score for the Lakers to seal the victory.
The Lakers finished the game with a 48.2 shooting percentage compared to the 44.6 percentage by the Warriors.
Collins led the Lakers with 16 points in the game which included the game winning basket with seven seconds left in the game. Collins also led the team in rebounds with eight. The Lakers had three other players with 10 or more points in the game: Colvin (15 points), Fischer (10 points), and Okerlund (10 points). Fischer led the Lakes in assists as he notched seven in the win.
Up Next
The Lakers will head to Ashland, Ohio to face the Ashland University Eagles at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1 to close out the weekend.
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