SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State men's basketball team fell in overtime to the Northern Michigan Wildcats by a final score of 99-94 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Quarterfinals after a thrilling late game push tied the game in the closing seconds of regulation. The Lakers 2021-22 season came to a close after the loss at the Berry Events Center in Marquette, Mich. and the team finished the season with a 16-11 overall record.
First Half:
After an hour and a half delay to the start of the playoff game, the Lakers got on the board first in the game when Malek Adams made a hook shot to give his team a 2-0 lead. Kemon Bassett's first field goal of the game at 17:25 of the first half to give the Lakers a 4-3 lead and he added another jump shot with 16:17 left to keep the Lakers ahead (6-5).
Northern Michigan's Nick Wagner made a three pointer on the next possession to overtake the lead (8-6). Wagner's second three-pointer of the first half came at the 14:27 mark to lead (11-8) over the Lakers. Bassett made a pair of free throws to bring the Lakers within four points (14-10). But, Wagner made another three-pointer as the Wildcats extended their lead to seven points (17-10) and the team would hold a double-digit lead by the midpoint of the half (24-12).
C.J. Robinson and Bassett each added layups as the team pulled within eight points (26-18) with 7:24 left in the first 20 minutes. After the Wildcats regained their double-digit lead (31-20), Adams made a pair of layups and David Wren followed with a jumper to bring the Lakers back within eight points (32-24).
With two minutes left in the first half, the Lakers trailed by 13 points (41-28). Bassett made a layup with 1:37 left and Wren made a jump shot in the closing :30 seconds as the first half ended with the home team leading, 43-32.
Second Half:
Adams made a three-pointer to open the scoring in the second half, and sparked a seven-point scoring run by the Lakers to kick off the half. Wren and Kingsley Perkins each made layups as the Lakers pulled within four points of the Wildcats within the first two minutes (43-39).
The Wildcats' strong three-point shooting game continued in the second half as Justin Brookens made a three-point shot at 18:07 to take back a seven point lead (46-39). The game's next five points were all scored from the free throw line as fouls would play a major role in the remainder of the game.
Brookens made his second three-point basket of the second half at 15:43 as the Wildcats lead was back at nine points (52-43). However, the Lakers answered with a seven-point scoring run. Bassett and Adams each made layups and Robinson capped off the rally with a three-pointer to make it a two-point differential (52-50).
The Lakers would pull within two points of the Wildcats four more times in the next few minutes of play but NMU held off the visitors from tying the game each time. With 11:06 left in regulation, Adams made a jump shot to make it a 61-59 game.
With just over half of the closing twenty minutes played, Adams added his third consecutive free throw to cut the Wildcats lead to just one point (63-62). Justin Kuehl made a three pointer to give Northern Michigan a four-point cushion and Kuehl made a free throw with 9:04 left on the clock to extend the lead to five points (67-62).
Back-to-back layups by Adams kept the Lakers within a point with under eight minutes left in the playoff game (67-66).
After Bassett fouled out of the game, NMU's Max Bjorklund made two free throws and Carson Smith followed with a three pointer for the Wildcats to give the team a seven point lead (76-69) with 5:06 left.
With three minutes left in regulation, the Wildcats and Lakers traded field goals as the home team held a five point lead (80-75) and Bjorklund made a layup with 2:14 left to build a seven-point lead (82-75).
Wren started a five-point scoring run for the Lakers at 2:03 with a layup and a free throw, and Adams added a layup to trail by just two points (82-80) with 1:31 left. NMU's John Kerr made a free throw with exactly one minute left in the game to give the Wildcats a three-point lead (83-80).
Andy Soma hit a three-pointer with :44 seconds left on the clock to tie the game but the Wildcats copied the Lakers to regain the three-point lead. Bjorklund made the shot from beyond the arc to lead 86-83 with :19 seconds left. With three seconds left, Wren missed a three-pointer and Soma was called for a foul on Bjorklund. Bjorklund missed both free throws and the Lakers had the ball back with 2.4 left in the game. Wren sent the ball the length of the court to sophomore Blake Cassidy, who made the buzzer beater shot from three to tie the game at 86 and force overtime.
Overtime:
The Wildcats scored the first six points in the five-minute overtime session to lead, 92-86, with 2:36 left. Adams, who had a career performance in his final game, made a jump shot with 2:15 left to pull within four points (92-88).
Adams followed with a three-pointer with :40 seconds left in the extra period to keep the Lakers within four points (95-91). The Lakers were unable to come back in the final seconds as the Wildcats free throw shooters extended their team's lead to eight points (99-91) with :11 seconds to play. Northern Michigan clinched the playoff win by a final score of 99-94.
Breaking Down the Game: In his final collegiate game, Adams scored a career-high 42 points for the Lakers. Adams went 16-for-35 from the field, including a team-high two three-pointers. The senior guard went 8-for-9 from the free throw line and also added eight rebounds and four assists in the game. Bassett, who played 20 minutes for the Lakers, ranked second on the team with 19 points. Bassett went 7-for-12 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
Wren rounded out the team's top three scorers as he posted 11 points in the game. Wren added five rebounds and three assists, which included the pass on Cassidy's buzzer beater. Robinson led the team with 10 rebounds while also posting nine points and three assists against the Wildcats.
The Lakers finished the game with a 43.9 shooting percentage, going 36-for-82 in the game. On the other end of the floor, the Wildcats went 28-for-67 in the game to total a 41.8 shooting percentage. Lake Superior State outrebounded Northern Michigan, 47-42, in the game.
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