SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – The Lake Superior State (LSSU) men’s basketball team (17-6, 9-4 GLIAC) fought back to take down the visiting Wayne State Warriors (10-14, 4-10 GLIAC) at the buzzer in double overtime by a final score of 92-90 on Thursday.
Devin Womack (Ypsilanti, Mich.) opened up the game with a three, but Wayne State’s Carmelo Harris hit from distance to answer right back. The Lead would continue to change hands, but after a Xander Okerlund (Empire, Mich.) three-pointer to put the Lakers up 8-7, the Warriors were able to take the lead, and they would fight to hold onto it throughout the game. Wayne State was able to push ahead to a 16-8 advantage, forcing an LSSU timeout, but despite a three from Womack to get back within four, Wayne State continued to stay out in front. The Lakers would then find a rhythm late in the opening half as they rallied for a 7-0 run that featured Womack finding Hunter Soper (Lexington, Mich.) for a dunk to close back to within two. Soper would then hit a jumper to knot up the score at 32-32, but Harris would knock down a deep three that would ultimately be the difference at the break with Wayne State leading 37-34 at halftime.
The Warriors were able to push back out ahead in the second half, leading by as many as 13 points, but threes from Okerlund and Andy Soma (Traverse City, Mich.) helped keep the Lakers within striking distance. The Lakers continued to chip away at the lead as Okerlund hit another three while fading away in the corner, and a clutch three from Tyson Edmondson (Ypsilanti, Mich.) with 51 seconds to play had the Lakers back within two. Kingsley Perkins (Ypsilanti, Mich.) would then deliver the defensive stop that LSSU needed with a key block under his own basket to give his team a chance. Then, after multiple second chance opportunities to tie the game or take the lead with a three, the fourth time would prove to be the charm with Soper tipping the ball in to send the game to overtime.
The Warriors struck first in overtime after winning the tip, but Womack was able to find a cutting Soper for the dunk to tie the game at 75-75. Peter Nwoke (Lagos, Nigeria) would then hit a free throw to give the Lakers their first lead since the score was 8-7. Wayne State took the lead right back with a three from Ray Williams Jr., but Okerlund answered right back with a three of his own. The lead would change hands again, but after Soper tied up the game at the free throw line, Wayne State was unable to get a shot off, forcing another five minutes to be added to the scoreboard.
Okerlund broke the deadlock with a layup, and the Lakers found themselves up four midway through the second overtime period. However, the Warriors still had more fight left in them, tying up the score at 86-86. Okerlund would then hit a clutch three to give his team a three-point lead, but Wayne State again battled back to tie up the score at 90-90 with six seconds to play. The Lakers raced down the court, and after Womack’s three-point attempt fell short, Soma found himself in the right place at the right time to secure the offensive rebound and shovel it to Nwoke for the game-winning layup at the buzzer.
Okerlund led the way offensively with 25 points on the night. Meanwhile, Womack finished with 18 points while also dishing out 10 assists for the double-double, and Soper also finished in double figures with 17 points while also notching three steals on the defensive end.
The Lakers will be looking to win their sixth straight when they host the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals on Saturday, Feb. 17 with tipoff scheduled for 3 p.m.
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