SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State men's basketball team recorded a 78-74 win in their second nonconference game of the weekend as the team defeated the Westminster Griffins in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. to improve to 2-0 this season.
First Half:
At the end of the first half, the Lakers led 40-36.
The Griffins jumped out to an early 5-0 lead over the Lakers but junior Xander Okerlund made a three-pointer at 16:28 of the half to pull the Lakers within two points (5-3).
As the first half played on, the Griffins extended their lead to eight points (16-8) but the 12 minute mark but back-to-back threes from freshman Tyson Edmondson would even the game at 16 with just over 10 minutes left in the opening half. Redshirt senior forward Caden Ebeling regained the Laker lead with 8:57 left on the clock (20-18) when he scored on a layup.
As the half continued, Okerlund scored consecutive baskets for the Lakers with a three-pointer and a jump shot to make it an even 25-25 game with 6:41 left on the clock. Okerlund finished the first half with a team-leading eight points.
The Lakers closed out the first half strong as Adams tied the game at 34 with 2:43 left to play as he made his second three of the half. Ebeling added four points in the closing minute while Justin Fischer made back-to-back free throws to give the Lakers a four point advantage on the scoreboard (40-36) after the first 20 minutes.
Second Half:
The Lakers built a seven point lead (44-37) through the first two minutes of the second half as Ebeling and Adams went four-for-four on free throws. Westminster came back within two points of the Lakers at the 16:22 mark (46-44) but the Lakers would respond with a run of eight points to take a double-digit lead (54-44). Okerlund led the Lakers in that stretch with two more baskets from beyond the arc, to bring his game total up to four.
After the Griffins came back within four points after six straight free throws, the Lakers answered by going on a scoring run of seven straight points. Fischer had five of the points in the Laker run as the team held an 11 point lead (61-50) with just over 10 minutes left on the clock.
Westminster began to chip away at the Laker lead, going on a seven point run of their own to pull within three points (65-62) with 6:47 left in the game. Fischer made a layup, marking his 11th point of the second half, to regain a five point lead for LSSU.
Fischer continued to lead the Lakers in the second half netting two more layups as the Lakers held onto the lead, despite a strong push from the Griffins.
With 4:15 left in regulation, the Griffins pulled within a point of the Lakers (69-68) but back-to-back layups from Ebeling and another layup by Fischer led the team to a five point lead (75-70) with 1:36 remaining in the game.
In the final minutes of the game, the Lakers defense would keep the Griffins from coming back and the home team earned a 78-74 win for a 2-0 record to open the season.
Breaking Down the Win: Fischer led the Lakers with a career-high 21 points in the game as he went 9-for-14 against the Griffins. The senior bested his previous single-game high which was 19 points. Fischer had 15 points in the second half to lead the team to the win. Fischer's career game also saw him lead his team in both rebounds (9) and assists (6) against Westminster.
Okerlund ranked second on the team in points with 14 as he went 5-for-10 in field goals and netted a team-high four threes in the game. Ebeling rounded out the team's top three scorers in the victory as he scored 12 points and ranked second on the Lakers with eight rebounds.
The Lakers finished the game with a 43.8 shooting percentage, going 28-for-64 in the game. On the other end of the floor, the Griffins went 24-for-53 in the game to total a 45.3 shooting percentage. Westminster outrebounded Lake Superior State, 36-32, in the game.
What's Next
The Lakers will host the Finlandia Lions for a nonconference game at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 23 in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. in the Bud Cooper.
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