SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – The Lake Superior State University men’s basketball team (3-4, 2-0 GLIAC) earned a hard-fought 79-75 victory over the visiting Grand Valley State Lakers (3-6, 0-2 GLIAC) in overtime on Saturday.
Grand Valley was able to take an early 6-4 lead, but Xander Okerlund (Empire, Mich.) would lead his team to a 10-0 run, scoring seven points by himself during that stretch on a three and several free throws. However, Grand Valley was able to go on a 16-0 run of their own to take the lead. Lake State would battle back with a Hunter Soper (Lexington, Mich.) three kickstarting an 8-0 run that was capped off with an and-one from Caden Ebeling (Shelby Twp., Mich.) to get back to within three. Both teams battled for the remainder of the first half, but Grand Valley would ultimately pull ahead to take a 41-32 lead into the break.
The Lakers would come out swinging in the second half as Kemon Bassett (Detroit, Mich.) and Ebeling combined for an early 5-0 scoring burst. Grand Valley was able to respond, but Ebeling was able to draw multiple fouls to help his team grind out a 10-3 run at the line. Kingsley Perkins (Ypsilanti, Mich.) would then come alive with back-to-back buckets before Okerlund cut the lead down to a single point at the charity stripe. Both teams would then go back and forth until C.J. Robinson (Clarkston, Mich.) was able to take advantage of a bad pass to come away with a steal before converting with contact on the other end for a three-point play to tie up the game at 60-60. Both teams would always seem to have an answer down the stretch, but with neither team able to convert in the final minute of regulation, it would take extra basketball to decide a winner with the score tied at 67-67.
Ebeling gave Lake State a two-point advantage early in the overtime period, but Grand Valley tied the game back up at the free throw line. Both teams would then have chances to secure a lead at the line, but both teams found themselves shooting one of two at their respective opportunities, keeping the score tied at 70-70. The Lakers were able to build a three-point lead, but Grand Valley hit a clutch three with 28 seconds remaining to tie the game at 75-75. However, Ebeling would prove to be the hero, drawing a foul to put his team up two at the line, and after a defensive stop, Tyson Edmondson (Ypsilanti, Mich.) iced the game away with a pair of free throws to give Lake Superior State the 79-75 victory over Grand Valley in the battle of the Lakers.
Ebeling led the way offensively with 19 points, and Okerlund was right behind him with 18 points of his own while also leading all players with seven rebounds. Bassett and Robinson would join their teammates with double-digit scoring with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
The Lakers return to action on Friday, Nov. 9 when they travel to take on the Huskies of Michigan Tech with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
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