MIDLAND, Mich. - Five points from junior guard Josh Goldschmidt inside the final minute of play at Riepma Arena on Thursday (Feb. 23), lifted Lake Superior State to an 83-81 victory over Northwood in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball regular-season finale.

With 38 seconds remaining and the Lakers (16-9, 13-8 GLIAC) trailing, 81-76, Goldschmidt sunk a three-point field goal in transition to draw LSSU to within two points. On the ensuing inbounds play, sophomore guard Carson Manger stole the ball from Nick Spitzley and tied the game with a layup, evening the score at 81-81.

Resigned to kill the final 30 seconds off of the clock and set up a chance for the last shot, the Timberwolves (5-25, 3-18 GLIAC) got into their offensive set with just over 10 seconds remaining. The defense for the Lakers trapped Brad Schaub in the corner and forced an errant pass, picked off by Goldschmidt.

Racing up the court with under five seconds remaining, Goldschmidt was fouled on an attempt at the game-winning layup and went to the line for a pair of free throws. Out of a 30-second timeout, Goldschmidt calmly went to the line and sunk the pair, capping a 7-0 run in the final 38 seconds and giving the Lakers an 83-81 lead.

The last-ditch effort at a half-court shot by Northwood came up short as the Lakers held on for the two-point victory. The game also marked the third time in the past four meetings that a game between the Lakers and Timberwolves was decided by two points or less.

Manger led the Lakers in scoring with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor and a 4-for-6 clip behind the arc. Following Manger, junior guard Akaemji Williams scored 18 points to go along with game-highs of five assists and four steals.

With 2:18 remaining in the first half, PJ Weaver was fouled hard on a shot attempt and a double-technical was called on the Lakers, setting up six free throws for the Timberwolves with Nick Spitzley hitting the four technical free throws and Weaver making one-of-two at the line to put NU ahead, 33-30. The Lakers rallied back from the three-point deficit to claim a 37-36 lead at halftime with a 7-3 run, capped off by a three-pointer from Tim Cairnduff with six seconds remaining.

LSSU once again edged the Timberwolves by a single point in the second half, 46-45. On the game, LSSU shot 47.5 percent from the field and went 14-for-28 on three-point attempts.

Sparked by depth contributions, the LSSU bench outscored Northwood 26-13 in the contest. Senior center Michael Smutny contributed nine points and a team-high five rebounds in 22 minutes of reserve duty.

Spitzley led the charge for the Timberwolves with a game-high 31 points. Senior Matt Crowl, playing his final game for Northwood, added 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field.

With the win on Thursday, the Lakers clinched the No. 3 seed in the GLIAC Tournament next week and will host GLIAC South Division foe Ashland at 7 p.m. on Tuesday (Feb. 28) inside Bud Cooper Gymnasium.