SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State men's basketball team opened the 2021-22 season with an exhibition game win over the Alma College Scots by a final score of 88-51 in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium on Sunday, Oct. 31.
First Half:
At the end of the first half, the Lakers led 43-24.
Junior guard Xander Okerlund opened the game's scoring with a three-pointer in the first minute of play. The Scots followed with a three-pointer on the next possession and would take the lead with a layup (6-5). The Lakers three-point shooting continued its strong start as Malek Adams and C.J. Robinson each netted a shot from behind the arc to give the Lakers a 9-7 lead.
Redshirt senior Caden Ebeling gave the Lakers a six point lead (13-7) over the Scots with a layup, as he scored his first points in the Laker jersey at 13:53 of the first half. Later in the half, Adams and Robinson combined for back-to-back Laker three pointers to extend the lead to eight points (21-13). Adams registered his third three of the game with 6:41 left in the half to put the Lakers ahead by 15 points (31-16).
Ebeling finished a strong first half with a team-leading 10 points which included two layups in the final five minutes to propel the Lakers to a 19-point advantage after twenty minutes of play.
Second Half:
Okerlund once again opened the scoring in the half for the Lakers as the junior made a jump shot to extend the team's lead to 21 points (45-24).
The play through the first ten minutes of the second half was evenly matched as the Lakers posted 15 points in the span while the Scots recorded 14 points. With 10:11 left to play in the game, the Lakers led by 20 points, 58-38.
Lake Superior State's game continued to click through the final 10 minutes as the team finished with a 88-51 victory to open the 2021-22 season.
Breaking Down the Game:
Adams led the Lakers with 16 points in the game as he went 7-for-15 against the Scots. Adams went 4-for-6 in the game from behind the three-point line, which led the team in the category. In addition to the 16 points, the redshirt senior also added three rebounds and five assists. In his first game as a Laker, Ebeling ranked second on the team with 14 points as he went 7-for-12 against Alma. Senior C.J. Robinson rounded out the team's top three scorers with 12 points as he was a perfect 5-for-5 in the game, including 2-for-2 in three pointers.
Kemon Bassett led the team in rebounds with seven, with five coming defensively. Justin Fischer and freshman Tyson Edmondson were tied with Adams for the team lead in assists with five.
Ebeling made his Laker debut against the Scots while freshmen Devin Womack, Kingsley Perkins, Ben Patrick and Tyson Edmondson all made their collegiate debuts.
The Lakers finished the game with a 53.0 shooting percentage, going 35-for-66 in the game. On the other end of the floor, the Scots went 20-for-60 in the game to total a 33.3 shooting percentage. Lake Superior State outrebounded Alma, 39-32, in the game.
What's Next
The Lakers next game will be another exhibition match as the team travels to Rochester, Mich. next Friday, Nov. 5 to take on Oakland University. The game is set for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff at the Athletics Center O'Rena.
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