SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State men's basketball team recorded a 71-63 over the Purdue Northwest Pride on Thursday, Feb. 17 in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) game at the PNW Fitness & Recreation Center in Hammond, Ind. With the win, the Lakers win streak extends to six games while the team's record sits at 16-7 overall and 11-6 in GLIAC play.
First Half:
Freshman Kingsley Perkins opened the scoring at 19:52 with a layup to give the Lakers an early 2-0 lead over the Pride. After the Pride scored two quick jumpers to take a 4-2 lead, C.J. Robinson made a three pointer to regain the game's lead early on (5-4).
Through the first six minutes of the game, one point separated the team's as Purdue Northwest held a 11-10 lead. But, the Lakers would respond with a nine point scoring run to take a 20-11 lead by the 11:28 of the GLIAC game. Xander Okerlund made a layup with 10:47 left on the clock in the first half to keep the Lakers up by nine (22-13).
The Pride answered with 14 consecutive points, led by Logan Phillips who had 10 of the points for his team in the stretch. With 7:32 left in the opening half, the Pride held a 27-22 lead over the Lakers.
Freshman Tyson Edmondson, who has been consistently one of the top three-point shooters in the conference this season, made his first three of the game to cut the Lakers deficit to two points (29-27) with 4:31 left in the half. Robinson's second three of the game, which came at 2:57, gave the Lakers back the score advantage (31-29) over the Pride.
Purdue Northwest came back to tie the game at 31 but Kemon Bassett would add five points (two layups, free throw) in the final two minutes of the first half. The first 20 minutes of play ended with the Lakers holding a 36-33 lead.
Second Half:
Purdue Northwest tied the game on the first possession of the second half when Anthony Irvin made a three point jump shot. Irvin followed with a pair of free throws in the first minute to give the Pride a 38-36 advantage.
Malek Adams made a layup at 19:03 to open a seven point scoring run for the Lakers. Following a jump shot by David Wren at 17:15 of the second half, the Lakers held a 43-38 lead.
Beginning at the 13:10 mark, the two teams traded three-pointers. Adams and Edmondson each made threes for the Lakers and the Pride would answer with two three-pointers. With 12:13 left in the game, the Lakers held a 49-46 lead.
The evenly matched conference game continued as the Pride once again overtook the lead after stringing together a nine-point run (55-50). With seven minutes left in the game, the Pride held onto a five point lead (57-52).
Edmondson's three-point shooting would even up the game as the freshman made back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to tie the game at 59 with 5:45 left on the clock. Adams and Wren followed with layups to cushion the Lakers lead to four points (63-59) with 4:14 left in the game.
The Pride pulled within two points (63-61) but the Lakers would close out the game strong, scoring eight straight points to take a 10 point lead with under a minute left in the game. The Lakers clinched their sixth straight win by a 71-63 final score.
Breaking Down the Win: The Lakers had four double-digit point scorers in the victory, led by Bassett who had 18 points off the bench. Bassett also led the team with 13 rebounds, to earn his first double-double of the season. Adams ranked second among his teammates with 13 points in the victory while also leading the Lakers in assists with five. Edmondson rounded out the team's top three scorers as he netted a team-leading four three-pointers to total 12 points against the Pride. Robinson, who led the team with 36 minutes on the floor, finished the game with 10 points.
The Lakers finished the game with a 42.9 shooting percentage, going 27-for-63 in the game. On the other end of the floor, the Pride went 21-for-47 in the game to total a 44.7 shooting percentage. Lake Superior State and Purdue Northwest each recorded 34 rebounds in the game.
What's Next
The Lakers will continue their conference season on the road next weekend against the Purdue Northwest Pride and Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers. The Lakers will play their final regular season road game on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 4:00 p.m. EST against the Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers at the De Simone Gymnasium in Kenosha, Wisc.
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