SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State men's basketball team recorded a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) win over the Parkside Rangers on Saturday, Jan. 25 by a final score of 75-66 in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium.
Senior forward Ke'Montrece Collins started the game strong for the Lakers as he scored the team's first six points, netting two straight three-point jump shots. With five minutes of the game played, the Lakers trailed the Rangers, 12-6 but Nigel Colvin would make a layup seconds later to bring the Lakers within four points. The Lakers would then control the game for the next stretch of action as they outscored the Rangers by a margin of 14-3 to take a 20-15 lead by the halfway point of the first half.
Through the next five minutes of play, the two conference opponents would trade points but the Lakers were able to still hold a six point lead over the Rangers (29-23). With 4:30 left in the first twenty minutes of the game, the Lakers would score seven straight points to take a 36-26 lead only to have the Rangers respond with a six point run of their own. The two teams were separated by four points with a minute left in the half, with the Lakers up 36-32. The Lakers would close out the first half strong with five points in the last 40 seconds to lead 41-32 at the half.
To start the second half, the Lakers would go ahead by nine points at 17:23 when C.J. Robinson made a jump shot to give Lake State a 43-34 advantage. After the Rangers cut the Lakers lead down to five points, Justin Fischer would answer with a three-point basket to put the Lakers up 48-40 at the 15 minute mark of the second half.
Parkside, led by leading scorer Brandon Trimble, would begin a rally that would eventually see the Rangers tie the game at 48 with 11:40 remaining in the half. With the game tied at 50, the Lakers, led by their leading scorer Collins who scored seven points in three minutes, would regain the lead to go ahead 59-53 with 8:08 left in regulation.
The Rangers would tighten the Lakers lead to two points with 2:08 remaining in the game before the Lakers would secure the lead when Ashton Sherrell and C.J. Robinson netted back-to-back free throws to put Lake State ahead by six points (72-66) with 1:36 left in the game. The Lakers would hold on to seal their second straight GLIAC win by a final score of 75-66.
The Lakers were led in scoring by the pair of Collins who finished the game with 18 points and Fischer who scored 17 points for Lake State. Ashton Sherrell led the Lakers with nine rebounds, all coming defensively.
Up Next
The Lakers will continue GLIAC play as they face Wayne State Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7:30p.m. in Detroit, Mich. The Lakers will then travel to Ashland, Ohio to face the Ashland University Eagles at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1.
For more information, visit lssulakers.com
To purchase tickets, click here or call (906) 635-2601.
Follow Laker Basketball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for news, updates & more!