SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The No. 2 seeded Lake Superior State (LSSU) men's basketball team (21-7, 13-5 GLIAC) is set to host the seventh-seeded Wayne State Warriors (13-14, 7-11 GLIAC) in the 2024 GLIAC Quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 6 with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium.

Tickets will be 10$ for adults, seniors, and LSSU faculty/staff, and they will be $2 for children and students due to GLIAC Tournament policy. 

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The Lakers are coming off of a pair of victories this week after pulling away in the second half to defeat Purdue Northwest 83-65 on Thursday to secure the No. 2 seed before going on to take down the Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers 76-68 on Senior Day. LSSU's entire starting five finished Saturday's contest in double figures, led by Hunter Soper (Lexington, Mich.) with 19.

The Warriors are riding a 3-game winning streak to earn a spot in the tournament at the final buzzer on Saturday after racing the length of the floor in the final 4.7 seconds with no timeouts to score a buzzer-beating layup to not only earn their place in the field, but also eliminate Saginaw Valley State on their home floor. Wayne State earned the No. 7 seed by way of a tiebreaker over Purdue Northwest as a result of their victory over Northern Michigan on Feb. 24.

Both matchups between these two programs so far this season have come down to the final possession with Devin Womack (Ypsilanti, Mich.) scoring a game-winning layup while being fouled with three seconds left on the clock in Detroit earlier this season. 

When these teams met for a second time in the Soo, the Lakers were able to erase a 13-point deficit in the second half as Perkins blocked the Warriors attempt to ice the game, allowing Soper to force overtime with a tip-in layup as LSSU had three offensive rebounds in the closing seconds. The Lakers would then go on to win the game in double overtime after Andy Soma (Traverse City, Mich.) secured an offensive rebound before quickly shoveling the ball to Peter Nwoke (Lagos, Nigeria) for the game-winning layup at the buzzer. Senior Xander Okerlund (Empire, Mich.) scored 25 points in the contest.

Stories to Watch

• Okerlund enters the game 17 points shy of joining the LSSU 1,000-point club.

• Soper and Kingsley Perkins (Ypsilanti, Mich.) are tied for third in the GLIAC in rebounding with 6.4 per game.

• Two of the top three-point shooters in the GLIAC will be featured with Wayne State's Rob Lee Jr. ranking first in the league at 47.6% while Soper is close behind at 45.8% to rank third. 

• Womack is one of only three GLIAC players to eclipse 100 assists on the season with 102, ranking 3rd in the league.

• Perkins ranks second in the league in blocks with 38.

• The Lakers finished the regular season with the top scoring defense in the league, allowing only 68.0 points per game.

• Should LSSU defeat Wayne State and top-seeded Northern Michigan lose to Purdue Northwest on Wednesday, the Lakers would host the remainder of the tournament as the highest remaining seed.

GLIAC Tournament

Wednesday, March 6 | Quarterfinals

Campus sites, higher seed is host

Game 1    No. 1 Northern Michigan vs. No. 8 Purdue Northwest, 7:30 p.m.     

Game 2    No. 4 Grand Valley State vs. No. 5 Michigan Tech, 8 p.m.    

Game 3    No. 3 Ferris State vs. No. 6 Parkside, 7:30 p.m.    

Game 4    No. 2 Lake Superior State vs. No. 7 Wayne State, 7 p.m.    

Saturday, March 9 | Semifinals

Hosted by highest seed remaining following the quarterfinals

Game 5    Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2    

Game 6    Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4    

Sunday, March 10 | Championship 

Hosted by highest seed remaining following the quarterfinals

Game 7    Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6