SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State men's basketball team will play its final two nonconference games of the season this week as the team matches up with the Finlandia Lions for a Tuesday evening game in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium on Nov. 23 at 6:00 p.m. and hosts the Lewis University Flyers on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 3:00 p.m.
Last Time Out
Last weekend, the Lakers posted back-to-back wins over the Westminster College Griffins in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium. On Friday night, the Lakers earned an 81-71 victory over the Griffins in the team's first nonconference game of the season. Malek Adams led the team with 22 points in the game as he went 6-for-12 from the field, and netted five threes against the Griffins. Caden Ebeling followed with 18 points against Westminster. Senior guard Justin Fischer recorded a double-double in the victory as he scored 10 points while adding a team-leading 10 assists in the game. Fischer was also tied for the team-lead in rebounds with six.
The Lakers followed with a hard-fought 78-74 win on Saturday afternoon against the Griffins to remain undefeated this season. Fischer led the Lakers to the win with a career-high 21 points as he totaled a career-best nine field goals in the game. Fischer also led the team in rebounds (9) and assists (6) against the Griffins. Three other Lakers posted double-digit point totals in the game: Okerlund (14), Ebeling (12), Adams (11).
Through the first two games of the season, the Lakers average 79.5 points per game on a 44.6 shooting percentage and a 35.8 mark from three. LSSU has averaged 22.0 assists per game and 28.5 rebounds per game.
2020-21 Recap
Last season, the Lakers played a conference-only schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the abbreviated schedule, the Lakers combined for an 8-11 record, which led the team to an eighth place finish in the GLIAC. LSSU averaged 73.8 points per game on a 45.4 field goal percentage. The team finished the season with 34.6 three-point percentage, and averaged 32.4 rebounds per game during the 19 game season.
For their play during the 2020-21 season, junior forward Kemon Bassett was named First Team All-GLIAC, redshirt senior guard Malek Adams was named Second Team All-GLIAC and junior guard C.J. Robinson was named to the All-GLIAC Defensive Team.
Preparing for the New Season
The Lakers are led by Steve Hettinga, the all-time winningest coach in Laker Basketball history, who enters his 15th season in the role. Assistant coach Ted Stowe returns for his fifth season in the role on Hettinga's staff.
The Lakers will be led by a strong senior class which includes returners Kemon Bassett, Malek Adams, C.J. Robinson, David Wren, Justin Fischer and transfer Caden Ebeling, who joins the Lakers after a solid career at Albion College. Hettinga will look to this group's leadership on-and-off the court this season. Bassett was recently named to the All-GLIAC North Preseason Team.
Lake Superior State will also be returning a junior class of Dan Few and Xander Okerlund as well as sophomores Blake Cassidy and Andy Soma.
Hettinga's squad will welcome a large freshman class this season with seven student-athletes joining the Lakers. The freshman class includes three players from Ann Arbor Huron High School (Tyson Edmondson, Kingsley Perkins and Devin Womack) who will look to build on their chemistry and success from their high school careers at the collegiate level. The remaining first-year players include Drew Hess, a 6-2 guard from Oscoda, Mich., Ben Patrick, a 6-2 guard from Oklahoma City, Okla., Kendall Smith, a 6-8 forward from Muskegon, Mich., and Hunter Soper, a 6-6 forward/guard from Lexington, Mich.
Scouting the Lions
Finlandia University, a Division III program based in Hancock, Mich., has totaled a 1-6 overall record to open the season. The Lions opened their season with six consecutive losses but posted a 91-79 win over Moody Bible in the team's most recent game on Saturday, Nov. 20. Last season, the Lions totaled a 1-10 record during the abbreviated COVID-19 season.
Finlandia was picked to finish fifth in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll, as the team received seven votes. The Lions return more than half of their roster from last season, including four starters. In addition, six of the team's top seven scorers are back, highlighted by junior Danny Zuchak who averaged 9.3 points per game last season.
Through seven games this season, the Lions are led by freshman guard Rae'quan Funches who ranks first among his teammates with 13.6 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game. BJ Williams, a junior guard, also averages double-digits in points per game (11.7) for the Lions.
Scouting the Flyers
Lewis University, a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference based in Romeoville, Ill., sits at 0-3 following the first three games of the 2021-22 season. The Lewis Flyers have matched up against three GLIAC schools this season (Northern Michigan, Michigan Tech, Wayne State). Most recently, the Flyers dropped a close 68-66 decision to the Wayne State Warriors on Wednesday, Nov. 17.
The Flyers were picked to finish second in the GLVC Preseason Coaches Poll as the team is the defending GLVC Champions. Last season, Lewis went on a run in the GLVC Tournament as the No. 5 seed to claim the program's third conference tournament title. The Flyers finished the conference-only 2020-21 regular season schedule with a record of 14-10.
Lewis is led by head coach Scott Trost, who is in his 16th season in the role for the Flyers. The team returns a majority of last season's roster, including fifth-year guard Connor Niego, who leads the team with 14.0 points per game on a .552 field goal percentage this season. Niego also ranks first among his teammates in rebounds per game with 8.7
Up Next
The Lakers will begin conference play at the home court on Thursday, Dec. 2 as the team hosts the Wisconsin Parkside Rangers at 7:30 p.m. in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium. LSSU will follow with a home contest against the Purdue Northwest Pride on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 3:00 p.m. to wrap up the first weekend of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play.
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