Big Win Clinches #2 Seed For 'Wolves

The men's basketball team managed a 78-75 comeback win over the McMaster Marauders on Friday evening.

Lakehead made their push in the final quarter after trailing 45-41 at halftime, and 60-54 heading into the final quarter. A 24-15 effort in the final quarter would seal the deal, with Lakehead tying the game at 69 on a Ben Johnson 3-pointer with under 4 minutes to play. Following that both teams would exchange singular made free throws, tied 70-70 with under 2 minutes to play.

On the subsequent play Ryan Thomson missed a three pointer, and with the rebound heading out of bounds Greg Carter would dive past a Marauder and play the ball of him and out of bounds, giving Lakehead possession and a fresh shot clock. Carter would score 'and-1' on the subsequent play, but miss the free throw. After Lakehead took a 2-point lead, Adam Presutti would hit a straight-away bank three pointer to give the home side a 1-point lead with 15 seconds remaining.

Ryan Thomson's number was called on the following play, and he scored 2 of his game-high 22 points on a post up feed from Yoosrie Salhia for a 1-point Lakehead advantage. Following a McMaster time out and a failed play to throw a lob to Rohan Boney, McMaster fouled and Ben Johnson who hit 2 free throws for a 3-point lead, which held true following a last-ditch McMaster effort that missed.

Ben Johnson finished with 19 points (5-9 threes) with 5 rebounds, followed by Dwayne Harvey with 18 points, 4 steals and 4 rebounds, which included a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first half. Yoosrie Salhia struggled with foul trouble for most of the game, finishing with a season-low 5 point, 5 rebound night with 3 assists in 24 minutes of play. Greg Carter was a defensive force with 6 steals to go with 6 assists and 6 points.

For McMaster, Nathan McCarthy had a team-high 21 points with a game-high 9 rebounds (8 offensive). Joe Rocca had 11, Adam Presutti and Aaron Redpath scored 10 apiece. 

McMaster held a 38-30 advantage on the glass. Lakehaed's biggest advantage was in 3-point shooting, hitting 11-of-24 (46%) to McMaster's 6-21 (29%).