MELBOURNE, Fla. - The Lake Superior State men's basketball team's earned an 81-68 win over the Florida Tech Panthers in the final game of the Florida Tech Holiday Classic in Melbourne, Fla. on Monday, Dec. 20. With the victory, the Lakers close out the 2021 portion of the season with an overall record of 7-3.
First Half:
The Panthers grabbed a 5-0 lead to start the game but Kemon Bassett would put the Lakers on the board at 17:50 when he made a field goal. Florida Tech added a three pointer and a layup within the first five minutes of play to hold a 10-2 lead over the Lakers with 15:00 minutes left in the half.
In the next two minutes of action, the Lakers added three field goals (two by Malek Adams and one from Justin Fischer) to pull within five points of the Panthers (13-8). After Niall Harris made a three pointer to give the Lakers a nine-point lead (19-10), the Lakers went on a five point scoring run, led by a three pointer by C.J. Robinson to come back within four points (19-15) with just over 10 minutes left in the half.
With 7:57 left in the first half, the Lakers would take the lead for the first time of the game. Xander Okerlund made a three point jump shot and David Wren followed with a two-point field goal to pull within one point of the Panthers (21-20). Bassett's jumper at the 7:57 mark gave the Lakers a 22-21 lead.
Adams extended the Lakers lead to two points (27-25) when he made a three point jumper with 5:29 left in the opening half. The senior guard hit another basket from beyond the arc with 3:13 left in the first half as the Lakers lengthened their lead to five points (32-27). Freshman Kingsley Perkins' dunk with 2:39 left in regulation put the Lakers up by seven points, 34-27.
Bassett scored the Lakers final points of the half when he put the team up by nine points (38-29) and the Panthers added two points from made free throws in the last minute as the first half ended with the Lakers leading, 38-31.
Second Half:
Within the first two minutes of the second half, the Lakers extended their lead to double digits after Robinson made a three and Adams followed with a layup (43-32). Robinson netted his second three pointer of the second half less than a minute later as the Lakers extended their lead to 12 points (46-34).
Adams made back-to-back threes to propel the Lakers to a 16-point lead over Florida Tech with 15:33 left in the game (52-36). However, the Panthers would respond by going on a 13-point run to trail by just three points (52-49) with 12:07 remaining in the game.
Tyson Edmondson's three point shooting continued to impress in the second half as the freshman made three baskets from behind the arc to give the Lakers a nine point lead (63-54) with 8:31 left in the game.
In the next stretch of game play between the two teams, the Panthers tried to gain ground on the Lakers lead. After two made free throws, Florida Tech came within seven points but the Lakers answered by scoring 10 of the game's next 12 points. With 2:35 left in the contest, the Lakers led by 15 points.
The Lakers defense was able to keep the Panthers from coming any closer in the final minutes and the team earned an 81-68 win in the holiday tournament.
Breaking Down the Game:
For the second game in a row, Adams led the Lakers with 22 points. The senior guard went 8-for-10 from the field, including a team-leading four three pointers. Adams also added five assists, and four steals against the Panthers. Okerlund ranked second among his teammates with 17 points in the win as he went 7-for-11 in the game while also adding four rebounds and four assists.
Robinson rounded out the team's top three scorers in the win as the senior recorded 13 points while also leading his teammates in rebounds with nine. Justin Fischer led all Lakers in assists in the win with nine.
The Lakers finished the game with a 60.8 shooting percentage, going 31-for-51 in the game. On the other end of the floor, the Panthers went 24-for-60 in the game to total a 40.0 shooting percentage. The Lakers outrebounded Florida Tech, 35-28, in the game.
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