THUNDER BAY – Sports – The Lakehead Thunderwolves men’s basketball team were handed their second loss on home court this season, 70-67 to the Brock Badgers.
The Badgers were under the skin of the T-Wolves from the get-go, jumping out to a 19-15 lead after 10 minutes, and running them off the court in the second quarter, 23-12 to lead by 15 at the break (42-27). Lakehead’s shooting was way off in the first half, connecting on only 1 of 14 long range attempts. They did pick it up in the second half, hitting 3 of 12, but their poor shooting was compounded by their lack of hustle on the glass. Brock out-rebounded Lakehead 45-30, with 15 offensive boards.
Things looked bleak for the home side early in the 3rd quarter as Brock’s continued presence on the glass put the ‘Wolves in a hole, with the Badgers up by 19 early in the Q.
Lakehead would battle back, but never gain the lead. With some desperate plays and fortunate bounces in the final minute, Lakehead would fight back to 69-67, but with their next-to-final possession a Joe Hart three pointer clanged off the rim. Brock’s Mike Luby claimed the rebound and would hit one of two free throws for a three point lead with .9 seconds remaining, and a half court heave from Ryan Thomson was off the mark to force overtime.
Thomson led the Pack with 16 points, while Salhia was his usual double-double self with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Joseph Jones came off the bench to score 14 points in 27 minutes of work before fouling out late in the game.
For the Badgers, Jameson Tipping was once again the leading scorer with 17 points and 13 rebounds (4 offensive), followed by Brian Nahimana with an efficient 15 points (6-8 FG) and 10 rebounds.
Lakehead shot 4-26 (15%) from long range and 19-61 (31%) from the field.
Coach Scott Morrison stated, “This morning in our pregame prep I told the team that this Brock team did not quit last night and would be coming out hard. The keys were getting a solid start on the defensive end and being willing to battle physically on the glass against a bigger lineup. By half-time it seemed that both of these suggestions fell on deaf ears as our defense started the game flat footed and mute while our rebounding effort was almost non-existent. By the time our guys woke up to end the 3rd quarter the damage had been done. Our shooting was pitiful but at the end of the day it was the least reason for our loss – it came down to getting beat up on the glass and not executing on either end for the first 30 minutes.”
The men are on the road next weekend in London, to take on the Western Mustangs.
