SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State men's basketball team played to a 78-53 win over the Northwood University Timberwolves in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) game on Saturday, Jan. 22 at the Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste, Marie, Mich. With the victory, the Lakers overall record improves to 10-5 and 5-4 in conference play.
First Half:
The Timberwolves scored the first four points of the game to hold a 4-0 lead over the Lakers after two minutes of play. C.J. Robinson made a three point shot at the 17:01 mark to put the Lakers on the board and bring the team within a point of tying the game (4-3).
Northwood's Jack Ammerman responded with a three point basket, starting a seven point run for the Timberwolves. Northwood led 11-3 with 13 minutes to play in the half. However, the Lakers would answer with their own scoring run of 16 consecutive points to regain the lead. The team was led by freshman Tyson Edmondson, who added back-to-back three pointers to put the team ahead 14-11 with 9:44 remaining on the clock. Redshirt senior guard Malek Adams also added a three-pointer in the stretch for the Lakers that ended with the team holding an eight-point lead (19-11) with 8:01 left in the half.
Adams and senior forward Kemon Bassett made back-to-back layups for the Lakers as the home team led by nine (23-14) with 5:53 left in the first half. Northwood cut the lead to six points but the Lakes would have a strong finish to the first half, scoring 10 of the last 14 points. Bassett recorded five of the team's points in the span. At the end of the first 20 minutes, the Lakers led 35-23.
Second Half:
Senior guard Justin Fischer opened the second half's scoring when he made a layup in the first minute of play. The Timberwolves pulled within single digits (37-28) after sophomore forward Kenny Ganley Jr. added five straight points for Northwood.
As the half played on, the Lakers held onto a solid lead over the Timberwolves. Sophomore guard Andy Soma's three-pointer with 15:55 left in the game extended the Lakers lead to 12 points (43-31) and Bassett added a layup on the next scoring play to give the team a 14 point lead. The Lakers continued to build their lead over Northwood, thanks to a seven point scoring run from David Wren (three points) and Adams (four points). With 11:30 left in the game, the Lakers held a 19-point lead (54-35).
In the final ten minutes of the game, the Lakers would close out the conference game by a final score of 78-53 to earn the win.
Breaking Down the Win:
The victory was an all-around effort by the Lakers with 11 different players recording points in the game and five Lakers posting nine or more points. Bassett led the team with 14 points as he went 6-for-10 from the field while also adding four rebounds, six assists and three steals. Fischer ranked second among his teammates with 13 points in the win as he went 5-for-6 in field goals while also recording four rebounds and three assists. Edmondson rounded out the team's double-digit scorers as the freshman posted 11 points in the game as a result of his stellar three point shooting. Edmondson scored a team-high three three-pointers against Northwood.
The Lakers finished the game with a 52.6 shooting percentage, going 30-for-57 in the game. On the other end of the floor, the Timberwolves went 14-for-47 in the game to total a 29.8 shooting percentage. Northwood outrebounded Lake Superior State, 31-29, in the game.
What's Next
Next week, the Lakers are set to play a pair of GLIAC road games as they are scheduled to play the Wayne State Warriors on Thursday, Jan. 27 at 5:30 p.m. and the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals on Saturday, Jan. 29 at 3:00 p.m.
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