Men's Basketball Defeats No. 17 Lake Superior State 73-66 In Overtime
| Final | 1 | 2 | OT | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Lake Superior St. (23-5, 18-4 GLIAC) | 36 | 28 | 2 | 66 |
|
Northwood (15-13,11-11GLIAC) | 35 | 29 | 9 | 73 |
MIDLAND, MICH. – The Northwood University men's basketball team earned a bid to the GLIAC Tournament with a dramatic 73-66 overtime win over No. 17 Lake Superior State Thursday night (February 26).
Northwood finishes the regular season 15-13 overall, 11-11 in the GLIAC. LSSU falls to 23-5 overall, 18-4 in the GLIAC. Northwood and Hillsdale ended the year tied at 11-11 in the GLIAC, but NU wins the tiebreaker thanks to sweeping HC in the regular season.
The Timberwolves led by as many as seven in the opening half, but a late run by the Lakers gave LSSU a 36-35 lead at halftime. Lake Superior State shot 58.3 percent from the floor in the half (14-24) compared to Northwood at 46.4 percent (13-28).
Northwood came out strong in the second half, opening up a nine point lead with nine minutes to go. NU's lead was five with less than five minutes to go, only to see the Lakers fight back. The game was tied with 2:20 remaining in regulation, but neither team was unable to score the rest of the way.
NU controlled the overtime on both ends of the court. Northwood shot 50.0 percent from the floor (3-6) and 3-4 from the foul line. The Timberwolves also held the Lakers to 1-9 from the floor (11.1 percent), allowing Northwood to out-score LSSU 9-2 to earn the win.
For the game, Northwood shot 42.6 percent from the floor (26-61) while LSSU finished at 38.3 percent (23-60). NU out-scored the Lakers 17-15 from the foul line, while LSSU connected on one more 3-pointer than Northwood (5-4).
Four Timberwolves finished in double figures, led by senior Will Bowles (East Detroit, Mich./South Lake) with 23 points. He also added eight rebounds. Maurice Jones (Saginaw, Mich./USC) added 13 points, six assists and five steals. Matt Crowl (White Pigeon, Mich.) came off the bench to score a career-high 11 points. Dylan Langkabel (Morristown, Ind.) added 10 points.
Northwood will open the GLIAC Tournament with a rematch against LSSU Wednesday night (March 4). Game time is set for 7 p.m.