SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State men's basketball team posted a 73-63 win over the Wayne State Warriors in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) game on Saturday, Jan. 8 at the Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. With the victory, the Lakers overall record improves to 9-3 and a 4-2 mark in GLIAC competition this season.
First Half:
After Wayne State opened the game with five straight points, C.J. Robinson got the Lakers on the board at 17:44 of the half with a three pointer. Redshirt senior Malek Adams added the next five points in the game for the Lakers as he netted a jump shot and a three pointer to bring the Lakers within two points of the Warriors after five minutes of play (10-8).
The Lakes pulled within a point after Kemon Bassett made a pair of free throws but the Warriors responded with two quick three pointers to lead 17-12 with 13:03 left in the half. Three straight field goals by the Lakers regained the lead as the home squad led by a point (18-17) with 9:17 left in the first 20 minutes. However, the Warriors answered with a run of seven straight points, leading 24-18 with 6:35 left on the clock.
Wayne State was leading by seven points (27-20) with under five minutes to play but Lake State scored 10 of the game's next 12 points. Justin Fischer's dunk after a defensive end steal would regain the lead in the game (30-29).
After the Warriors made four consecutive free throws to lead by three points (33-30), sophomore Blake Cassidy tied the game with a basket from beyond the arc with less than a minute left on the clock. Wayne State made two free throws in the closing seconds to hold a 35-33 lead at the close of the first half.
Second Half:
Adams tied up the game at 35 with a layup and sophomore Andy Soma's three pointer at 18:02 gave the Lakers a three point lead over the Warriors (38-35). The game stayed close between the two conference rivals in the next stretch of play but the Lakers would maintain the lead.
After the Warriors came within a point of tying the game up, Robinson made a three pointer to extend the Lakers lead to four points (45-41) with 15:30 remaining in the game. After a steal, Cassidy made his second three of the game with 11:57 left on the clock to put the Lakers up by five points (49-44).
The Lakers lead continued to extend as the half reached the midway point as Bassett and Adams each added points to give the team an eight-point lead over the Warriors (54-46) with 9:01 left in the game. Wayne State kept chipping away at the Lakers lead, eventually pulling within two points of the Lakers when Darian Owens-White made a three pointer with 7:45 left in the half.
Bassett made two free throw attempts with just under six minutes left in the game as the Lakers led by four points (59-55) but the Warriors netted back-to-back field goals to tie the game at 59 with 4:49 left to play.
Wayne State scored on a jump shot with 3:07 left in the second half to edge within a point of the Lakers (62-61) but the home team would once again preserve the lead, scoring the next 10 points. As a result of the scoring run, Lake State led by double-digits (72-61) with 1:29 left in regulation. The Lakers would clinch their second win of the weekend by a final score of 73-63 over the Warriors.
Breaking Down the Win:
The Lakers were led by Adams, who continued his stellar play for the team, as he recorded a team-leading 24 points in the win. The senior went 8-for-20 in the game, and scored on seven of his nine free throw attempts. Adams added four rebounds, and four assists in the win.
Bassett ranked second on the team with 19 points in the victory, including seven made free throws for the Lakers. Bassett led the team with six assists while also adding three rebounds, a steal and a block. Robinson rounded out the team's top three scorers in the win as he added 13 points for the Lakers. Robinson scored a team-best three three-pointers.
Fischer finished the game with a team-leading eight rebounds while also adding four assists, and three steals.
The Lakers finished the game with a 42.4 shooting percentage, going 25-for-59 in the game. On the other end of the floor, the Warriors went 18-for-50 in the game to total a 36.0 shooting percentage. The Warriors outrebounded Lake Superior State, 44-29, in the game.
What's Next
Next weekend, the Lakers will play their first conference road games of the new year as the team travels to take on the Davenport Panthers and the Grand Valley State Lakers. The Lakers will play Davenport on Thursday, Jan. 13 at 8:00 p.m. and Grand Valley on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 3:00 p.m.
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