SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State men's basketball team recorded a 93-81 win against the Purdue Northwest Pride in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) game on Saturday, Dec. 4 in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. With the victory, the Lakers overall record sits at 5-1 and 1-1 in GLIAC competition.
First Half:
The Lakers got off to a hot start over the Pride, scoring the game's first seven points. Freshman forward Kingsley Perkins recorded five of those points for the Lakers, including a dunk within the first minute of the game. Perkins followed with his second dunk of the game in the next minute of action as the Lakers led 9-2 with 18:05 left on the clock.
Junior guard Xander Okerlund netted the Lakers first three-pointer of the game at the 17:06 mark to give the home team a 12-5 lead. The Pride responded with a 10-point scoring run in the next stretch of play to take a three point lead over the Lakers with just under 15 minutes left in the half (15-12).
At 12:54 of the half, freshman Tyson Edmondson scored his first basket of the game as the guard made a three-point shot to tie the game at 17. Edmondson followed with another bucket from beyond the arc at the 11:01 mark as the Lakers trailed by one point, 23-22.
The Pride scored the first four points after the halfway mark of the opening twenty minutes as the visiting team scored four straight free throws to go up by five points, 27-22.
Redshirt senior Malek Adams would make consecutive three pointers for the Lakers to regain the team's lead with 7:41 on the clock (28-27). For the remainder of the half, the Lakers would hold onto the lead. David Wren would make four free throws in the next few minutes of play to give the Lakers a seven-point advantage (35-28).
The Lakers strong three-point shooting continued as the first half went on as Adams made another basket from beyond the arc to give the Lakers a 41-33 lead with 3:29 left to play. In the final two minutes of the half, the Lakers added another six points from three pointers as the team finished the first half with an impressive eight threes. Lake State held a 10-point lead, 55-45, after the first twenty minutes.
Second Half:
The Pride came out strong in the first three minutes of the second half, cutting the Laker lead to just two points (56-54). Purdue Northwest scored nine of the first ten points of the second half. But the Lakers would have an answer for the Pride's offense as the home team responded with a seven point run of their own. In the scoring run, Adams made his fourth three-pointer of the game to put the Lakers ahead (65-56).
At the halfway mark of the second half, the Lakers went ahead by double digits as Okerlund made a three-pointer to set the score at 75-64.
The Lakers continued to extend their lead in the following minutes as Adams scored the team's next six points. Lake State held a 14 point lead with 6:00 minutes left in the game (82-68).
In the final minutes of the game, the Lakers would hold off the Pride to secure the conference win by a final score of 93-81.
Breaking Down the Win:
Adams led the Lakers in the victory with 26 points in the game as the senior went 9-for-16 from the field. With five three pointers, Adams led the Lakers in that category as well.
Adams was one of five players on the Lakers roster to post double-digit point totals in the game. Wren ranked second on the team with 13 points while Okerlund rounded out the top three scorers with 12 points in the win. Perkins (11 points) and Fischer (10 points) also posted double-digits in points. Fischer finished the game with a double-double as he led the team with 10 assists in addition to his 10 points. Perkins led the Lakers with eight rebounds in the game.
The Lakers finished the game with a 49.2 shooting percentage, going 32-for-65 in the game. On the other end of the floor, the Pride went 31-for-68 in the game to total a 45.6 shooting percentage. The Lakers outrebounded the Pride, 35-33, in the game.
Up Next
The Lakers will continue GLIAC play on the road next weekend as the team travels across the Upper Peninsula to take on Michigan Tech at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 9 and Northern Michigan at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 11.
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