MELBOURNE, Fla. - The Lake Superior State men's basketball team's late comeback fell short as the team dropped a 76-71 game to the Lynn University Fighting Knights on Sunday, Dec. 19 in the first game of the Florida Tech Holiday Classic in Melbourne, Fla. With the loss, the Lakers overall record sits at 6-3 this season.
First Half:
The Lakers started strong, building an early 6-0 lead over the Fighting Knights as Malek Adams and Xander Okerlund hit back-to-back three pointers. Okerlund made three free throws after Lynn's Christian Peevy took a personal foul, building the Lakers lead to 9-0.
After Justin Fischer made a layup to give the Lakers an 11-2 lead, the Fighting Knights scored six straight points to pull within points (11-9). C.J. Robinson made a two-point jumper and Adams capitalized on a turnover as he made a three point jumper on the next scoring play (16-9).
At 12:48 of the first half, the Fighting Knights tied the game at 16 when Ibrahima Sankare made a layup. After Adams scored back-to-back field goals, the Fighting Knights would take the lead for the first time in the game when Sankare made a three pointer to give his team a 21-20 lead.
The Lakers would regain a three point lead (24-21) with 9:41 left in the opening half when Kemon Bassett made a layup as the forward returned to the lineup for the first time in nearly a month and a half. Bassett added another layup while Adams netted his third jumper of the half at 7:39 as the Lakers extended their lead to six points (29-23).
Lynn took a two point lead with 3:48 left on the clock after an eight point scoring run but Bassett would tie the game at 31 after making a pair of free throws. Adams made a basket from beyond the arc in the final minute of the half and the Fighting Knights made a layup as the first twenty minutes closed with the Lakers leading by one point, 36-35.
Second Half:
Fischer opened the second half scoring with a layup in the first minute and Adams added a jumper to put the Lakers up by three points with 17:23 left in the game (40-37).
Lynn went on a 12-point scoring run in the next stretch of play to take a nine point lead over the Lakers (49-40) with just over 15 minutes left in regulation. Consecutive layups by Bassett and Robinson pulled the Lakers back within six points (51-45). With 9:08 left in the game, the Lakers trailed by seven points (56-49) as Xander Okerlund netted a layup.
After a few minutes of scoreless play between the teams, Lynn extended its lead to double-digits and with 4:40 left in the half, held a 13 point advantage over the Lakers (62-49). The teams traded layups through the next few possessions but the Fighting Knights would hold onto an 11-point lead with 3:38 left in the game (64-53).
Fischer made a layup with 1:57 remaining to make it a 10-point deficit for the Lakers (70-60) as the team started a run that began a late push to tie up the game. Okerlund followed with a layup and freshman Tyson Edmondson hit a three point shot with :54 seconds on the clock to bring the Lakers back within five points (70-65). Okerlund made another layup making the score 70-67 with :40 seconds left to play. The Fighting Hawks would add two free throws to cushion their lead back to five points with under half a minute remaining to play (72-67).
Robinson made a free three and Edmondson followed with his second three point basket in the final minute to bring the Lakers within a point of tying the game (72-71). Lynn made a pair of free throws with seven seconds left to lead by three points (74-71) and Adams missed a three point jump shot with one second left on the clock as the Fighting Knights held on for the win.
Breaking Down the Game:
Adams led the Lakers in the game with 22 points as the senior guard went 9-for-18 from the field, including a team-best four three pointers. Adams added a team-leading eight rebounds in the game as well as two assists and three steals. Okerlund ranked second on the team with 14 points in the game while also adding six rebounds and a pair of assists. Bassett rounded out the Lakers top three scorers in the game as the forward recorded 13 points off the bench for the team as well as five assists.
The Lakers finished the game with a 35.1 shooting percentage, going 27-for-77 in the game. On the other end of the floor, the Fighting Knights went 25-for-54 in the game to total a 46.3 shooting percentage. The Lakers outrebounded the Fighting Knights, 48-38, in the game.
Up Next
The Lakers will close out the 2021 portion of their schedule tomorrow night as the team takes on the Florida Tech Holiday Classic tournament host, Florida Tech, in a nonconference game at 7:30 p.m. in Melbourne, Fla.
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