The Lake Superior State men’s basketball team fell 77-75 on Friday, February 5 while securing an 80-66 win over against the Davenport University Panthers on Saturday, Feb. 6 in the Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan in the closing game of a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) series this weekend.

First Half
After the first twenty minutes of action, the Lakers held a three point lead over the Davenport Panthers, 40-37.

C.J. Robinson opened the scoring for the Lakers in the game when he capitalized on a layup in the first minute of play to tie the game at two. The Panthers would then go on an eight point scoring run to hold a 10-2 lead over the Lakers in the first four minutes.

Xander Okerlund hit a shot from three to bring the Lakers within five points of the Panthers (10-5). The Lakers would rally in the next few minutes of play, scoring nine straight points, to tie the game at 13 when Justin Fischer made a layup following a defensive rebound by Dan Few and when Brandon Allen scored from beyond the arc with 12:07 left in the half, the Lakers took a 16-13 lead.

The Lakers strong shooting continued with Malek Adams’ first three pointer of the game coming at 11:04 of the first half to put the Lakers ahead 19-16 over the Panthers.

After the Panthers regained the lead, David Wren made a layup for a 24-23 LSSU lead and Allen sunk his second three pointer of the half to put the Lakers ahead, 27-23 with just under seven minutes left.

The Panthers would work to cut down the deficit but the Lakers found a spark from their freshmen – Blake Cassidy and Andy Soma. Soma made a three pointer with 3:25 left in the half (33-28) and Cassidy would add a three pointer of his own with just over two minutes left to put the Lakers up by eight points (36-28).

With some back and forth scoring between the two teams in the final two minutes, the half closed with the Lakers leading, 40-37. Adams led the Lakers with nine points but the offense was evenly distributed for the home team, with 10 players posting points in the half.

Second Half
Within the first two minutes of the second half, Robinson had four points for the Lakers, giving LSSU a five point lead early in the half (44-39).

Davenport’s Scott Ulaneo would bring the Panthers within three points (44-41) but the Lakers would respond with a 10 point run to go up by 13 points (54-41) before four minutes were played in the second.

The Lakers held onto the double digit lead throughout the first twelve minutes of the second half and would hold a 12 point lead with 8:29 left (61-49). Davenport would come back to bring the game with four points when Brackton Miller made a three pointer with 6:32 left (63-59).

Justin Fischer would not let the Panthers inch any closer as he followed with a three pointer of his own with 5:19 left to play (66-59).

The game would end with the Lakers clinching the win by a final score of 80-66 to split the weekend series.

Breaking Down the Win
Adams led the Lakers with 15 points in the game as well as seven rebounds and five assists. Including Adams, five Lakers finished with double figure point totals in the game. Robinson ranked second on the team with 14 points while leading the way in assists with eight. Fischer posted 13 points and was tied for the team lead in rebounds with nine. Wren and Bassett each registered 10 points in the win.

The Lakers finished the game with a 43.9 shooting percentage, going 29-for-66 in the game. On the other end of the floor, the Panthers went 24-for-59 in the game to total a 40.7 shooting percentage. Lake Superior State outrebounded Davenport, 41-33, in the game.

Game One (February 5)

Following the first twenty minutes of play, the Lakers led the Panthers, 42-34.

Davenport got off to a strong start in the game, scoring the game’s first seven points. C.J. Robinson made a three pointer to get the Lakers on the scoresheet. Kemon Bassett and Brandon Allen would each add field goals for the Lakers to make it a two point game in the Panthers favor (9-7).

Allen’s first three pointer of the half would give the Lakers their first lead in the game with 13:43 left in the half (13-11).

The Panthers would regain the lead, led by Chris Rollins who had seven of DU’s next ten points. Davenport would grab a six point lead but Malek Adams would have an answer for the Panthers as he added his first basket from behind the arc to bring the Lakers back with three points (21-18).

Five straight points from Bassett followed by another three pointer from Adams would give the Lakers a five point advantage (26-21) with just under nine minutes left in the half.

David Wren, who led the Lakers in the half with 11 points, made a dunk following an offensive rebound and would make back-to-back free throws to give the Lakers a six point lead with under four minutes left in the first half (34-28).

In the final three minutes of the half the Lakers would build upon their lead as Allen would add his second three pointer for the Lakers while freshman Andy Soma hit a shot from beyond the arc in the final minute of play (42-31).

Second Half
Bassett gave the Lakers a double-digit lead to open the second half of play as he grabbed his own offensive rebound to go ahead 44-34 over the Panthers. Six minutes into the second half, the Lakers were able to hold onto the lead as another layup by Bassett with 14:06 left in the game put the Lakers up, 50-39.

The Davenport offense would begin to chip away at the lead built by the Lakers as the Panthers scored eight of the game’s next ten points to come within five points of the Lakers (52-47) with 12 minutes left in the game.

With 10:41 left in the second half, the Panthers came within four points of the Lakers (56-52) but Lake Superior would respond with a layup from Wren and a pair of free throws from Dan Few to lead by eight (60-52).

Davenport would tie that game at 62 with 7:30 left in the game and then minutes that followed saw the two teams trade the lead. With 5:04 left in the game, the Panthers took the lead when James Felton made a layup and were able to hold onto the lead for the rest of the game.

With two minutes left, Bassett made a layup after Malek Adams secured a defensive rebound to tie the contest at 73. But in the next scoring play, the Panthers hit a three pointer to go back ahead by three points. The game would end with Davenport securing the win by a final score of 77-75.

Breaking Down the Game
Bassett and Wren each finished the game with at least 20 points for the Lakers as Wren led the way with 21 points. Wren went 6-for-11 in the game as well as 9-for-14 in free throw attempts while also adding eight rebounds and two assists. Bassett totaled 20 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.

Brandon Allen rounded out the Lakers top three scorers in the game as he scored 11 points, which included two three pointers for the Lakers. Allen led the team with three steals in the game. Justin Fischer tied Bassett for the team-lead in rebounds with 10 while also leading the Lakers in assists with five.

The Lakers finished the game with a 42.9 shooting percentage, going 24-for-56 in the game. On the other end of the floor, the Panthers went 26-for-67 in the game to total a 38.8 shooting percentage. Lake Superior State was outrebounded by Davenport, 37-36, in the game.

What’s Next
The Lakers will travel to Midland, Michigan next weekend to play a pair of games against the Northwood University Timberwolves. The first game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m on Friday, February 12 and the second contest is set for a 3:00 p.m tipoff on Saturday, February 13.

Source: LSSU Lakers Athletics