Tough weekend for Lakers’ Men’s Basketball (with photos)

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – The Lake Superior State men’s basketball team played host to the Michigan Tech Huskies this past weekend and let them drive home with two victories to the Lakers none.

On Friday, the Lakers fell to the Michigan Tech Huskies by a final score of 79-74 in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. in the first game of a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) series. 

First Half:

The Lakers grabbed an early lead over the Huskies with David Wren and Kemon Bassett scoring back-to-back three pointers to go ahead by six points. In the next stretch of play, Michigan Tech would respond as the Huskies outscored the Lakers by a 10-3 margin to take a two point lead (10-8) with 16:19 to play in the half. 

Lake Superior State’s strong shooting from the three point line would continue in the first ten minutes of play as Nigel Colvin, Justin Fischer and C.J. Robinson each netted a shot from outside the arc to regain the lead (17-12). 

With 11:24 remaining in the first half, the game would be tied at 22 between the two Upper Peninsula rivals. Laker guard Brandon Allen would tie the game at 25 minutes later with a three pointer. 

Michigan Tech held a six point lead over the Lakers with just under three minutes remaining in the half (38-32) and the half would close with the Lakers trailing by three points (40-37). 

Colvin led the Lakers in the half with 10 points as he went 4-for-5 including 2-for-3 on three point attempts. 

Second Half: 

Wren opened the scoring in the second half with a jump shot to bring the Lakers within a point of the Huskies (40-39). Bassett followed with a layup less than a minute later to put the Lakers back in front by a point (41-40). 

After the two teams traded points for the next few minutes of action, the Lakers would then string a run together of seven straight points to build a six point lead over Michigan Tech (60-54). But, the Huskies would respond. With nine minutes remaining in the game, the score was 60-59 in favor of the Lakers. 

Michigan Tech’s Dawson Bilski would make a three-point jump shot with 8:02 left in the game to regain the lead, and the Huskies were able to hold onto the lead for the remainder of the game. 

The Lakers would try to rally in the closing minutes of play, narrowing the Husky lead to four points with a minute left on the clock after Malek Adams made a jump shot from behind the three point line (76-72) and would add a pair of points with :37 seconds left when Colvin made a layup. 

A three-pointer from Michigan Tech’s Eric Carl with five seconds left would clinch the win for the Huskies by a final score of 79-74. 

Breaking Down the Game:

Colvin led the Lakers with 16 points against the Huskies, as he went 7-for-13 in the game in 21 minutes on the floor. Adams, Bassett and Wren all posted 13 points for the Lakers to rank second in the game. Justin Fischer led the team with seven rebounds, five on the defensive end of the court. 

The Lakers finished the game with a 53.7 shooting percentage, going 29-for-54 in the game. On the other end of the court, the Huskies went 32-for-59 in the game to total a 54.2 shooting percentage. Michigan Tech outrebounded  Lake Superior, 25-22, in the game. 

Saturday’s game had the same result.

The Lakers men’s basketball team fell to the Michigan Tech Huskies by a final score of 83-70 on Saturday, Jan. 23 in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. in the first game of a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) series.

First Half:

Similar to yesterday’s meeting between the two teams, the Lakers started off the game strong. Lake Superior State’s success in three point shooting allowed the home team to build a seven point lead over the Huskies in the first two minutes of play. Malek Adams scored consecutive three pointers for the Lakers while Kemon Bassett continued his dominance on the floor with a pair of layups. 

Michigan Tech would respond in the next few minutes of action and would take the lead for the first time in the game with 14:52 remaining in the half (11-10). David Wren, who finished the first half with eight points, would score on a layup with 12:11 left in the half to tie the game at 15. 

After the Huskies built up a four point lead, Wren would answer with a three point jump shot to bring the Lakers back within a point (19-18). 

Justin Fischer, who also had eight points in the first half, would regain the Laker lead with just under nine minutes to play in the half when he scored on a shot from beyond the arc (25-24). Minutes later, Fischer would add a second three pointer to put the Lakers ahead by two points (33-31). 

In the last minute of the opening half, the Huskies would take a one point lead over the Lakers (34-33) when Adam Hobson made a free throw but Bassett would make a layup in the closing seconds to give the Lakers a one point advantage, 35-34, to close out the first twenty minutes of play.

Second Half: 

After a close first half, the Huskies would go on to outscore the Lakers by a 49-35 margin in the second half. 

The Lakers would build a three point lead over the Huskies in the first two minutes of play as Fischer and C.J. Robinson each scored a pair of points. Michigan Tech’s Dawson Bilski would tie the game at 39 points each with 17:38 remaining in the half and the Huskies would not trail for the remainder of the game. 

At the 14:36 mark, Colvin scored on a layup and was fouled on by Michigan Tech’s Johnston on the play. Colvin, who made the free throw, would bring the Lakers within two points of the Huskies (44-42) but the away team would respond in the next stretch of action. 

Michigan Tech would score 13 of the game’s next 17 points to hold an 11 point lead over the Lakers  with just over ten minutes left to play (57-46).

The Lakers would rally in the next few minutes of action as Xander Okerlund brought the Lakers within single digits of the Huskies with a basket from three. Wren and Bassett would each capitalize on a layup to cut the deficit to five points (61-56) with 7:29 left in regulation. 

Despite a solid effort in the final minutes of the game by the Lakers, the home squad was unable to stop the Huskies offense. The game would end with the Huskies clinching the win by a final score of 83-70.

Breaking Down the Game:

Five Lakers recorded double-digit point totals in the game with Wren and Fischer leading the way with 13 points each. Bassett (12 pts.), Colvin (12 pts.), and Adams (11 pts.) rounded out the top five point getters for the Lakers in the game. Fischer also led the team in rebounds with seven and assists with five in the game.  

The Lakers finished the game with a 44.8 shooting percentage, going 26-for-58 in the game. On the other end of the court, the Huskies went 31-for-51 in the game to total a 60.8 shooting percentage. Michigan Tech outrebounded  Lake Superior, 29-23, in the game.

What’s Next:

The Lakers will travel to Big Rapids, Mich. for a single game against the Ferris State Bulldogs on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 5:00 p.m.

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