Lake Superior State vs. Hillsdale, GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinals

SAULT STE. MARIE – The Lake Superior State and Hillsdale men’s basketball teams are similar in so many ways, and yet so different.

Both teams fearlessly launch three-pointers and lead the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in assist/turnover ratio. They boast the league’s top two scorers in Hillsdale’s Kyle Cooper (22.8 points per game) and LSSU’s Devin Daly (21.9 ppg). Cooper and Daly also rank second and fifth in rebounding.

But their paths to this week’s GLIAC Tournament were very different. After securing a berth fairly early, the Lakers went 4-4 during their last eight regular-season contests. They didn’t clinch home-court advantage for the first round of the tournament until Thursday’s heart-stopping 96-94 home victory over Northwood, which avenged a crazy 112-111 overtime road loss.

 “That could have been our last home game at Lake State,” noted senior forward Jake Blake of last week’s victory over Northwood. “That was enough motivation for all of us to get the job done.”

Hillsdale wouldn’t have made the tournament if not for a five-game season-ending win streak that including victories over Michigan Tech, Northern Michigan, Ferris State, Grand Valley State and, finally, 16^th-ranked Saginaw Valley State. The Chargers enter the tournament 17-9 overall and 13-9 in the GLIAC. Their nine losses were by an average of 12.7 points, but those are ancient history.

The Chargers and Lakers are hope to peak at the right time as they open GLIAC Tournament play at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Bud Cooper Gymnasium. Tickets are $8 for adults, $4 for youth 12-and-under and $2 for LSSU students. The game will be broadcast live on WKNW 1400 with a pay-per-view video webcast on EverSport. Season passes and player comps will be not be accepted.

The Lakers (19-9 overall, 14-8 GLIAC) have suffered more than their share of heart-breakers this year, losing eight conference games by an average of 5.9 points. Just about every game has been close. LSSU avenged a two-point loss at Hillsdale by handing the Chargers their worst loss of the season in Sault Ste. Marie. That was a rare, lop-sided 87-60 decision on Feb. 6.

“We’ll be looking back on that game to see where we did well, to see the pros and cons of that game,” Blake said. “Always our No. 1 goal is to stop Kyle Cooper, who is one of the best players in the GLIAC, then not let their second and third players get going. That’s when they start clicking as a team.”

Both teams must win in order to extend their seasons. The Lakers, who reached the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and ’15, were the region’s No. 8 seed until their loss at Michigan Tech. As of last Wednesday’s rankings, it was Bellarmine, SVSU, Wisconsin-Parkside, Ashland, Indianapolis, Ferris State, Lewis and Findlay claiming the top eight regional spots. Kentucky-Wesleyan and Drury were bubble teams, leaving LSSU and Hillsdale among the teams that have to win the conference tournament to receive an automatic bid.

LSSU is seeks its first GLIAC Tournament title under Coach Steve Hettinga, who is in his ninth season. He is the Lakers’ all-time winningest basketball coach, but the Lakers haven’t won the league tournament since 1996.

“Every year during the last four years we’ve been in the tournament,” Blake said. “We played in the championship game once, which was last year. We’ve been knocked out of the first round, the second round. I hope we have enough experience now to finally pull out a championship effort.”

Blake isn’t taking any game for granted after sitting out the first semester of the 2015-16 season. The 6-5, 210-pound forward entered the season with only one semester of eligibility remaining. He spent the Fall semester isolated from the team, working out on his own and staying home to practice when the Lakers traveled.

“The first semester was really weird, sitting out all pre-season, and watching and watching,” Blake said. “It put things into perspective, wanting me to come back harder…My first couple practices (in late December), I was pretty tired. The first game Coach played me a lot to get me back into game shape. It took me a few games to get into the flow, the speed of the game.”

Blake averages 6.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He is undersized for a power forward, but adds a physical presence for LSSU’s interior core that includes Daly (6-4), Mike Nicholson (6-8) and Mike Smutny (6-8).

“Smut, me and Phil (Nicholson) all have separate games,” Blake said of the Lakers’ post diversity. “It’s really nice to throw something different throughout the game, whether it’s the outside game or inside game. The different sizes out there are really nice to have. We’re hard to guard when you have to scout for three guys instead of one.”

Cutting down the net following last year’s GLIAC regular-season title clinching win is the highlight of Blake’s career so far. He’d love to cut down another net.

“We know we have to take care of the little steps,” he said. “We have to take care of the game against Hillsdale before we can think about going to the national tournament. Our game definitely has to be top-notch. It’s another game in the season, but the first step in the process toward that goal.”