Men’s Basketball Falls in Hard Fought Game against Davenport (Photos)

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – The Lake Superior State men’s basketball team fell in a game that came down to the final seconds against the Davenport University Panthers by a final score of 77-75 on Friday, Feb. 5 in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. in the first game of a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) series this weekend.

First Half 

Following the first twenty minutes of play, the Lakers led the Panthers, 42-34. 

Davenport got off to a strong start in the game, scoring the game’s first seven points. C.J. Robinson made a three pointer to get the Lakers on the scoresheet. Kemon Bassett and Brandon Allen would each add field goals for the Lakers to make it a two point game in the Panthers favor (9-7). 

Allen’s first three pointer of the half would give the Lakers their first lead in the game with 13:43 left in the half (13-11). 

The Panthers would regain the lead, led by Chris Rollins who had seven of DU’s next ten points. Davenport would grab a six point lead but Malek Adams would have an answer for the Panthers as he added his first basket from behind the arc to bring the Lakers back with three points (21-18). 

Five straight points from Bassett followed by another three pointer from Adams would give the Lakers a five point advantage (26-21) with just under nine minutes left in the half. 

David Wren, who led the Lakers in the half with 11 points, made a dunk following an offensive rebound and would make back-to-back free throws to give the Lakers a six point lead with under four minutes left in the first half (34-28). 

In the final three minutes of the half the Lakers would build upon their lead as Allen would add his second three pointer for the Lakers while freshman Andy Soma hit a shot from beyond the arc in the final minute of play (42-31). 

Second Half

Bassett gave the Lakers a double-digit lead to open the second half of play as he grabbed his own offensive rebound to go ahead 44-34 over the Panthers. Six minutes into the second half, the Lakers were able to hold onto the lead as another layup by Bassett with 14:06 left in the game put the Lakers up, 50-39. 

The Davenport offense would begin to chip away at the lead built by the Lakers as the Panthers scored eight of the game’s next ten points to come within five points of the Lakers (52-47) with 12 minutes left in the game. 

With 10:41 left in the second half, the Panthers came within four points of the Lakers (56-52) but Lake Superior would respond with a layup from Wren and a pair of free throws from Dan Few to lead by eight (60-52). 

Davenport would tie that game at 62 with 7:30 left in the game and then minutes that followed saw the two teams trade the lead. With 5:04 left in the game, the Panthers took the lead when James Felton made a layup and were able to hold onto the lead for the rest of the game. 

With two minutes left, Bassett made a layup after Malek Adams secured a defensive rebound to tie the contest at 73. But in the next scoring play, the Panthers hit a three pointer to go back ahead by three points. The game would end with Davenport securing the win by a final score of 77-75. 

Breaking Down the Game

Bassett and Wren each finished the game with at least 20 points for the Lakers as Wren led the way with 21 points. Wren went 6-for-11 in the game as well as 9-for-14 in free throw attempts while also adding eight rebounds and two assists. Bassett totaled 20 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. 

Brandon Allen rounded out the Lakers top three scorers in the game as he scored 11 points, which included two three pointers for the Lakers. Allen led the team with three steals in the game. Justin Fischer tied Bassett for the team-lead in rebounds with 10 while also leading the Lakers in assists with five. 

The Lakers finished the game with a 42.9 shooting percentage, going 24-for-56 in the game. On the other end of the floor, the Panthers went 26-for-67 in the game to total a 38.8 shooting percentage. Lake Superior State was outrebounded by Davenport, 37-36, in the game.

What’s Next 

The Lakers and Panthers will wrap up the two game series tomorrow afternoon in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium. Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m. 

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