Men's Basketball Downs No. 17 Lake Superior State 94-80

The Northwood University men's basketball team earned an impressive 94-80 win at No. 17 Lake Superior State Saturday afternoon (January 18).

The win is the third straight for the Timberwolves, who improve to 11-7 overall, 7-3 in the GLIAC. LSSU, which had won 10 straight entering the contest, fall to 16-2 overall, 8-2 in the GLIAC.

Northwood got off to a tremendous start offensively, connecting on their first nine shots from the floor.  The Timberwolves eventually put up 30 points in the first 10 minutes of play and earned an 18 point lead.  But the Lakers fought back, scoring 11 straight points to cut the lead to 30-23. Northwood came right back with a run of their own, scoring 10 of the next 12 points to go back up 40-25.  NU eventually led 43-29 at the break.  NU finished the opening 20 minutes shooting 56.0 percent from the floor (14-25) and out-rebounded the Lakers 20-11.

The second half saw Northwood's shooting percentages get even better.  The Timberwolves shot 72.2 percent from the floor (13-18), 66.7 percent from 3-point range (2-3) and 95.8 percent from the foul line (23-24). NU scored 51 points in the half despite committing 16 turnovers against LSSU's full-court pressure. LSSU got the NU lead under 10 on three separate occasions, but the Timberwolves responded each time with points to get the lead back into double figures.

For the game, Northwood had one of its best overall shooting days in program history. The Timberwolves finished at 62.8 percent from the floor (27-43), 50.0 percent from 3-point range (8-16) and 97.0 percent from the foul line (32-33). That percentage from the foul line is a new NU school record, breaking the old record of 94.4 percent from January 20, 1976 (17-18).  LSSU finished at 38.5 percent overall (25-65) and 20.7 percent from 3-point range (6-29). Northwood dominated the glass in the game (41-23) but committed 17 more turnovers than Lake Superior (24-7).

Five Timberwolves finished in double figures, led by Dylan Langkabel (Morristown, Ind.) and Darvin Ham (Saginaw, Mich./Bridgeport). Langkabel had 23 points, 20 of which came after halftime. He was 5-10 from the floor and 12-12 from the foul line. Langkabel also added six rebounds and three assists. Ham scored 22 points, going 8-11 from the floor and 4-5 from beyond the arc. He also added a team-high five assists. Wes Wilcox (Roselle, Ill./Harper) finished with a double-double, finishing with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Will Bowles (East Detroit, Mich./Southlake) and Khalid King (Columbus, Ohio/North Carolina A&T) each added 12 points.

Northwood will travel to Ferris State Thursday night (January 23). Game time is set for 8 p.m.