SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State (LSSU) men's basketball program (9-3, 1-1 GLIAC) came away with an emphatic 98-66 victory over the Kuyper College Cougars (8-5) on Tuesday to wrap up nonconference play.

The Lakers quickly raced to a 7-0 lead after threes from Hunter Soper (Lexington, Mich.) and Xander Okerlund (Empire, Mich.) got things started, but the Cougars responded with a run of their own to take a slim advantage. LSSU would then push themselves ahead for good as a three from Blake Cassidy (Pellston, Mich.) put his team back in front, and an and-one from Adam Harakow (Edmonton, Alta.) helped kickstart a 12-2 run as the Lakers continued to let it fly. 

Kingsley Perkins (Ypsilanti, Mich.) began to make his presence known with a strong and-one inside before throwing it down on the ensuing possession as the Lakers closed out the opening half on a 21-4 run.

Tyson Edmondson (Ypsilanti, Mich.) and Soper continued to fire from distance with a pair of threes early in the second half, and Drew Hess (Oscoda, Mich.) was able to get involved as well with three makes from beyond the arc. The Lakers continued to cruise throughout the remainder of the game, and Omar Suleiman (Canton, Mich.) backed his way in for a dunk on the Lakers' final possession to put an exclamation point on the win as LSSU opens up 2024 in dominant fashion.

Harakow led the way offensively with 15 points with Peter Nwoke (Lagos, Nigeria), Perkins, and Cassidy also finishing with double-digit scoring. Meanwhile, Suleiman also finished the day with a game-high six assists. 

The Lakers will now turn their attention back to GLIAC play when they return to action on Saturday, Jan. 6 at Ferris State with tipoff scheduled for 3 p.m.