SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State men's basketball team will travel for the final time in the regular season as the Lakers take on the Purdue Northwest Pride and the Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers in a pair of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) road games. The Lakers will match up against the Pride on Thursday, Feb. 17 at 8:00 p.m. EST at the John Friend Court in Hammond, Ind. and will close out the weekend against the Rangers at 4:00 p.m. EST at the De Simone Gymnasium in Kenosha, Wisc.
Last Time Out
The Lakers look to extend their five game win streak as the team has not lost a game since Jan. 29, and are coming off a pair of wins last weekend against Ferris State and Northwood. Heading into this week's games, the Lakers have totaled a 15-7 overall record and a 10-6 mark in GLIAC competition.
Lake Superior State opened the pair of games with an 88-73 win over the GLIAC-leading Ferris State Bulldogs in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium. Senior Kemon Bassett led the team with 25 points in the win, as he tied his previous single-game career high in the category. Bassett went 10-for-18 in the game from the field while also leading his teammates in assists with seven. Redshirt senior Malek Adams ranked second on the Lakers with 18 points in the victory while also adding six rebounds and four assists.
In Saturday's 81-52 win over Northwood, the Lakers earned the victory as result of a full-team effort. Lake Superior State had point contributions from nine different players, with Adams and Bassett each posting 20 or or more points in the win. Adams led the team with 21 points, including a team-high four three-pointers. Bassett totaled 20 points coming off the bench in the win.
The Lakers
The Lakers are led by Steve Hettinga, the all-time winningest coach in Laker Basketball history, who enters his 15th season in the role. Hettinga reached the milestone of 250 wins at LSSU in the team's 75-72 win over Grand Valley on Feb. 3. Assistant coach Ted Stowe returns for his fifth season in the role on Hettinga's staff while assistant coach Hugh Clarke joins the staff for his first season. Through 22 games this season, the Lakers have averaged 79.1 points per game, which ranks third in the GLIAC, on a 46.3 shooting percentage and 32.6 rebounds per game.
Lake Superior State will be led by a strong senior class which includes returners Kemon Bassett, Malek Adams, C.J. Robinson, David Wren, Justin Fischer and transfer Caden Ebeling, who joins the Lakers after a solid career at Albion College. Hettinga will look to this group's leadership on-and-off the court this season. Bassett, who was recently named to the All-GLIAC North Preseason Team.
For their play during the 2020-21 season, junior forward Kemon Bassett was named First Team All-GLIAC, redshirt senior guard Malek Adams was named Second Team All-GLIAC and junior guard C.J. Robinson was named to the All-GLIAC Defensive Team.
Lake Superior State will also be returning a junior class of Dan Few and Xander Okerlund as well as sophomores Blake Cassidy and Andy Soma.
Hettinga's squad will welcome a large freshman class this season with seven student-athletes joining the Lakers. The freshman class includes three players from Ann Arbor Huron High School (Tyson Edmondson, Kingsley Perkins and Devin Womack) who will look to build on their chemistry and success from their high school careers at the collegiate level. The remaining first-year players include Drew Hess, a 6-2 guard from Oscoda, Mich., Ben Patrick, a 6-2 guard from Oklahoma City, Okla., Kendall Smith, a 6-8 forward from Muskegon, Mich., and Hunter Soper, a 6-6 forward/guard from Lexington, Mich.
Leading the Lakers
Through 20 games of the 2021-22 season, three Lakers have averaged double-digit point per game totals. Adams leads the team with 19.3 points per game which is second-best in the conference. Adams is tied for eighth in the conference in assists per game this season (3.7) and is tied for first in the GLIAC in steals per game with 1.7. Bassett ranks second on the Lakers, and eighth in the GLIAC, with 15.5 points per game. In addition, Bassett sits sixth in the conference in assists per game (4.1) and fourth in the GLIAC in blocks per game (1.1) this season. Ebeling rounds out the team's top three scorers as he averaged 14.8 points per game in four games played.
Justin Fischer, who averages 8.5 points per game this season, has totaled a 56.6 shooting percentage which is sixth-best in the GLIAC. Fischer also leads the team in rebounds (5.3) and assists (4.7) per game this season. His 4.4 assists per game ranks fourth in the GLIAC. Edmondson is second among all conference players in three-point shooting percentage this season with a 47.1 mark.
The Purdue Northwest Pride
The Purdue Northwest Pride have totaled a 5-19 overall record through 24 games this season and hold a 2-14 mark in conference play. Earlier this season, the Lakers defeated the Pride by a score of 93-81 at the Bud Cooper Gymnasium. The Pride have averaged 74.1 points per game on a 41.9 shooting percentage and 37.4 rebounds per game. Purdue Northwest is led by junior guard/forward Anthony Barnard and junior guard Mikell Cooper, who are both averaging double-digit point totals. Barnard has averaged 13.2 points per game to lead the Pride and also leads his team with 6.7 rebounds per game this year. PNW is led by fourth-year head coach, Boomer Roberts.
The Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers
The Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers have combined for an 11-12 overall record this season through 23 games, which includes an 8-8 record in GLIAC competition. Through 23 games this year, Parkside averages 74.1 points per game on a 45.7 shooting percentage while adding 32.1 rebounds per game. Earlier this season, the Rangers posted a 84-62 win over the Lakers in a game in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium. The Rangers are led by redshirt senior guard Tray Croft, who averages a conference-leading 20.5 points per game. Croft has totaled a 45.9 shooting percentage and a 40.7 mark from three this season. Redshirt freshman Jamir Simpson (11.8 ppg) and redshirt sophomore Vinson Sigmon Jr. (10.3 ppg) round out the top three scorers for the Rangers this season. Defensively, Simpson leads his squad with 5.3 rebounds. The Rangers are coached by Luke Reigel who is in his 17th season in the position.
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