Cullen Maksimowski, LSSULakers.com
CEDARVILLE, Ohio. — The Lake Superior State men's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season Saturday falling to non-conference Cedarville, 83-78, in the final game of the Don Callan Classic.
The Lakers move to 3-1 with the loss and finish the road-trip with a,1-1 mark. The Yellow Jackets improve to 2-2 on the season.
After knocking off No.20-ranked Findlay, 78-73, in Friday's opener, LSSU failed to find the same offensive rhythm they had a night ago shooting just 38.1 percent (24-of-63) from the field and 22.2 percent (6-of-27) from behind the arc.
Cedarville finished the game with a 52.7 percent (29-of-55) clip on field goal attempts and were 50 percent (14-of-28) on three-points attempts. The Yellow Jackets bench outscored the Lakers, 33-7, and held a 39-33 rebounding advantage.
Laker Superior fell behind early in the first half trailing, 32-14, at the 7:46 mark and finished the half shooting 25 percent (9-of-36) from the field.
The Lakers clawed back in the second half and took a, 72-71, lead with just over three minutes left in regulation but a pair of dagger three-pointers and several second-chance buckets by Cedarville halted the comeback attempt.
Senior guard Akaemji Williams once again led the charge on offense for Lake State tallying a season-high 29 points on an 8-of-16 shooting performance and was 13-of-16 from the free-throw line. Williams also totaled four assists to lead the team.
Junior forward Blake Marquardt finished with 22 points and was 6-of-16 on triple attempts. Senior center Michael Nicholson had 15 points and a team-high six rebounds in the loss.
Patrick Blain led the Cedarville offense with 24 points. Robert Okoro and Scott Kwenton posted 12 points apiece.
Next week, Lake Superior will hit the road for two non-conference games against Delta State (Nov.24) and Shorter (Nov.25) at the Kentucky Wesleyan Thanksgiving Classic. The Lakers return home Nov.30 for 7:30 p.m. matchup with Ashland.
Tickets may be purchased at the Norris Center Ticket Office or at lssulakers.com/tickets. Call 906-635-2502 for more information.