SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State (LSSU) men's basketball team (16-6, 8-4 GLIAC) took full control of second place in the GLIAC standings after an 87-74 victory over the Ferris State Bulldogs (17-6, 7-5 GLIAC) on Saturday.
The Bulldogs were able to get on the board first, but Tyson Edmondson (Ypsilanti, Mich.) was able to hit from distance to put LSSU in front. Then, after Peter Nwoke (Lagos, Nigeria) secured the rebound off the offensive glass, Devin Womack (Ypsilanti, Mich.) hit a jumper to put the Lakers up 5-2 with the second chance bucket. Both teams would go back and forth, but Hunter Soper (Lexington, Mich.) would make his presence felt with a tough basket while being fouled. Edmondson would then follow that up by hitting three-consecutive three-pointers, becoming the first to reach double-figures on his way to 18 points in the opening half. The Lakers continued to let it fly with Adam Harakow (Edmonton, Alta.), Andy Soma (Traverse City, Mich.), and Xander Okerlund (Empire, Mich.) all hitting from beyond the arc, and Womack closed out the first half with a driving layup to beat the buzzer to take a 52-39 advantage into the break.
The Bulldogs would try to fight back in the second half, but the Lakers always seemed to have an answer as Edmondson converted on back-to-back layups. Ferris State was able to crawl their way back to within single digits with an 8-0 run, but Soper responded with back-to-back threes to hold them at bay. Then, when it was time to close out the game, Womack answered the call with consecutive and-ones followed by a step-back three to keep LSSU in front for good.
Edmondson led all players in scoring with 25 points while Womack finished with 18 points and a game-high 5 assists. Soper filled out the stat sheet with a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double to go along with a pair of blocks and a steal, and Nwoke had a solid outing in his first start as a Laker with 12 points and 8 rebounds.
The Lakers return to action on Thursday, Feb. 15 when they host the Wayne State Warriors with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.