BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – The No. 10 Lake Superior State (LSSU) men’s basketball team (7-2, 0-1 GLIAC) narrowly fell to the No. 6 Ferris State (FSU) Bulldogs (9-1, 1-0 GLIAC) in the closing seconds by a final score of 83-81 on Tuesday, December 3rd in a battle between top-10 nationally ranked GLIAC heavyweights.

The Bulldogs opened up the scoring, getting out to a 4-0 lead, but Hunter Soper (Lexington, Mich.) responded with a three. Tyson Edmondson (Ypsilanti, Mich.) would then drill a three of his own as both teams battled to a 10-10 stalemate. The Lakers would start to pull slightly ahead as Adam Harakow (Edmonton, Mich.) threw down a dunk to put the Lakers up by six, but the Bulldogs continued to answer. LSSU would then start to get hot from beyond the arc with Devin Womack (Ypsilanti, Mich.), Soper, and Andy Soma (Traverse City, Mich.) all getting in on the barrage, and after a steal from Womack, Kendall Smith (Muskegon, Mich.) drilled a timely three from the top of the key to keep the Lakers up by seven. Ferris State continued to hang around, getting back to within three, but after calling a timeout to draw up a play, Womack found Harrison Sorrelle (Grand Haven, Mich.) for a three right before the halftime buzzer.

Soma opened up the second half with a fast break three as both teams traded buckets much like they did in the first. Then, midway through the half, the Lakers pushed ahead with an 11-0 run that heavily featured Adam Harakow, including a fast break dunk following a steal by Nino Carter-Smith (Warren, Mich.). However, Ferris State would not go down so easily. FSU guard Ethan Erickson made multiple deep threes, and the Bulldogs found themselves steadily closing what was as big as a 15-point gap. Erickson would then hit another three to put the Bulldogs in front by one, but the Lakers took the advantage right back with free throws from Womack. Both teams traded blows with one another for the remainder of the game, answering every shift of momentum almost immediately. Womack hit a three to put LSSU ahead 79-76, but Erickson hit another three of his own on the next possession. The game would ultimately come down to which team had the final shot, and unfortunately for the Lakers, despite doing everything they needed to do to win the game, Erickson banked in an angle shot over two defenders to steal the game away and break the Lakers’ hearts.

Despite the loss, Womack and Harakow each finished with 16 points. Edmondson (12) and Soper (11) also finished in double-digit scoring with the latter also notching 4 steals on the night.

The Lakers will look to bounce back when they travel to face GLIAC newcomer Roosevelt on Thursday, December 5 with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (CST).

Source: LSSU Athletics