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OT HEARTBREAKER: Lakers Rally Past Wildcats
 Story by NMU Sports Information, LSSU Athletics. Photo courtesy of NMU. Click the AUDIO button to hear comments from NMU Coach Matt Majkrzak. Click the thumbnails to see video highlights taken by RRN's Casey Ford. MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan men's basketball team took the No. 15 Lake Superior State Lakers to overtime on Thursday night, but ultimately fell 80-74. The Lakers outscored the Wildcats 15-9 in the extra session thanks to an 11-12 (91.7%) conversion rate at the free throw line. Northern was 0-2. The game saw nine ties and eight lead changes, with the Lakers holding the lead for over 75% of the game. The three-point line also played a key role in the game, as NMU was just 8-26 (30.8%) compared to the Lakers' 10-22 (45.5%). Overall, Northern shot 28-64 (43.8%) while LSSU was at 28-57 (49.1%). Dylan Kuehl led the Wildcat efforts, scoring a game-high 25 points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds and six assists. Jackson Dudek (12) and Gerald Gittens Jr. (11) also found double figures while Sam Privet was stout defensively, recording four steals and a pair of blocks. LSSU was led by Kingsley Perkins with a 20-point, 12-rebound double-double. The Green and Gold held five leads in the first half, with an early 12-9 edge proving its largest lead of the night. A late 9-0 run from Lake State in the first half along with a triple in the final seconds gave them a 34-26 lead at the break. The 'Cats faced its largest deficit of 50-39 with under 12 minutes to play. Lake State would hold that lead until NMU tied its largest run of the night, a 7-0 spurt, to knot the game at 58's with 4:51 to play. Northern scored the final points of regulation, a corner three from Dudek with 90 seconds left, to tie the score at 65-65. The Lakers would miss a shot at the rim in the final seconds and a Derek Merwick three at the horn from near half court sailed just wide to send the contest to an extra five-minute session. The sides exchanged points early in OT and a Kuehl three gave NMU a brief 70-69 edge with 3:15 to play. The Lakers were able to get the job done at the free throw line when it mattered most, going 11-12 on NMU's six fouls while the 'Cats were an empty 0-2 on LSSU's lone foul.
LSSU's Tyson Edmondson (Ypsilanti, Mich.) opened up the game by splashing a three, but the Wildcats responded to take a three-point lead of their own. Momentum would swing back toward LSSU as Hunter Soper (Lexington, Mich.) sank back-to-back threes to put his team back in front. NMU fought back early in the second half, closing back to within two, but a pair of threes from Womack had his team back up by double digits. Both teams would then trade blows with neither side giving an inch, but the Wildcats would not go down so easily, tying up the score at 58-58 with a 7-0 run. Soper hit from beyond the arc to break the deadlock, but the Wildcats were able to knot things up at 65-65. Both teams had an opportunity to try and win the game in regulation, but 40 minutes would ultimately not be enough to decide a victor. Perkins got the overtime period started with a layup inside, but Northern countered to tie the game. Soper would then jump the passing lane to steal the ball, taking it all the way to the rack for a dunk in transition, but the Wildcats responded with a three to take a one-point lead. Perkins led his team in scoring with 20 points on the night while also securing a game-high 12 rebounds. Soper and Edmondson each finished with 16 points of their own while Womack added 15. Meanwhile, Soper also put together a strong performance defensively with four steals and a block. The loss drops the Wildcats to 16-7 and 10-5 in the GLIAC. NMU is now two games back of Lake Superior State and Michigan Tech at 12-3 with five games to play. Northern is now tied with Ferris and Parkside at 10-5 and although not completely out of the picture for the regular season title, NMU is firmly in a battle to get home court for the postseason. |
