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Men's Basketball Opens Three-Game Road Trip with Loss at Wayne State

Men's Basketball Opens Three-Game Road Trip with Loss at Wayne State

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State men's basketball team dropped a 68-60 game to the Wayne State Warriors on Thursday, Jan. 27 in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) game in Detroit, Mich. With the loss, the Lakers overall record sits at 10-6 and 5-5 in conference play.

First Half:

After Brailen Neely made a layup to give Wayne State the game's first lead, freshman Kingsley Perkins made a dunk to tie the game at two. Kemon Bassett made a layup at 18:28 of the half to tie the game, 4-4. 

The Warriors would respond by going on a 12-point scoring run against the Lakers in the next five minutes of play to hold a 16-4 lead. Freshman Tyson Edmondson, who leads the GLIAC in three point shooting percentage, stopped Wayne State's run with his first three pointer of the game at 13:03 to bring the Lakers back within single digits (16-7). 

By the halfway point of the first half, the Warriors held onto the lead as the home team led 20-10 over the Lakers. As the half played on, Wayne State would extend their lead to 15 points with 7:50 left on the clock when Mike Robinson made a jump shot (27-12). 

The Lakers brought the score back within a single digit difference after four consecutive field goals, with David Wren notching a pair of jump shots and C.J. adding a layup for the team. Bassett's layup with 4:05 left made it a seven point game (27-20) as the Lakers chipped away at the Warriors lead. 

After Neely made a layup with :32 seconds left on the clock to extend Wayne State's lead to 11 points (33-22), Robinson hit a three-pointer with three seconds left in the half to cut the Lakers deficit to eight points (33-25) after 20 minutes of play.

Second Half: 

After the first two minutes of the second half were scoreless, Bassett recorded the first two points of the half with a layup. Perkins followed with a layup less than a minute later as the Lakers pulled within five points (34-29) of the Warriors. 

Bassett's layup at the 16:33 mark after a steal by Robinson brought the Lakers within three points (34-31). However, the Warriors would not let the Lakers come any closer to tying the game as the team strung together six straight points to regain a nine point lead (40-31). With 12 minutes left, the Warriors lead was once again in the double digits as the home team led, 44-33. 

At 7:48 of the second half, Robinson made a three-pointer for the Lakers (51-42) and Malek Adams also made a basket from outside the arc with 6:03 (56-45) as the Lakers looked to spark a late comeback. Robinson's layup with 5:19 on the clock made it a nine point game (56-47). 

Adams and Robinson continued to fuel the team's late push against the Warriors. Adams and Robinson each made jump shots for the Lakers with 4:35 and 4:00 left on the clock, respectively. Adams added another three pointer with 3:24 left in the game to bring the Lakers within six points of the Warriors (60-54). 

Wayne State's defense was able to hold off the Lakers in the next few minutes of play as the score sat at 62-55 with under one minute left in regulation. Edmondson made a layup with :44 seconds left (62-57) but the Warriors were successful in holding off the Lakers in the final minutes to secure the conference win. Wayne State won by a final score of 68-60. 

Breaking Down the Game:

The Lakers had three players post double-digit point totals in the game, led by Adams who finished the night with 16 points. 11 of Adams' 16 points came in the second half as he helped lead the team's late push to come back against the Warriors. Robinson, who also had a strong finish to the game for the Lakers, ranked second on the team with 14 points in the game. Robinson was tied with Adams for the team lead in three-pointers (2). Bassett rounded out the team's top three scorers as he posted 12 points in the game as well as seven rebounds. 

Perkins finished the game with a team-high eight rebounds and three assists against the Warriors.

The Lakers finished the game with a 35.9 shooting percentage, going 23-for-64 in the game. On the other end of the floor, the Warriors went 24-for-62 in the game to total a 38.7 shooting percentage. Wayne State outrebounded Lake Superior State, 49-38, in the game. 

What's Next

The Lakers will continue this week's three-game road trip on Saturday, Jan. 29 against the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals. Tipoff for the conference game is set for 3:00 p.m.

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