Despite winning the final three quarters of the game, it was the first one that cut the deepest of all, as Lakehead dropped an 80-65 decision to the Ryerson Rams.
To call it an early blowout might be an understatement, as Lakehead turnovers and poor shooting equated to a 29-3 lead for the Rams after 10 minutes.
Any coach or athlete would tell you that it’s a challenge to play from so far behind, so early in a game, but the Thunderwolves dusted themselves off and put together 30 minutes of solid basketball against the #3 team in the CIS.
The ‘Wolves were able to cut the deficit from 26 to 24 by halftime, and further down to 16 after three quarters of play.
To add credence to their accomplishment, it should be noted that Lakehead did all of this after battling back for most of the game the night prior, in which they successfully pulled out a 3-point comeback victory vs. U of T.
But there was no comeback to be had on Saturday. Lakehead’s 29 turnovers were crippling to say the least, especially in light of just 7 for the Rams.
Jamar Coke scored 13, and Dwayne Harvey added 12 points. Bacarius Dinkins pulled down 14 rebounds.
Jahmal Jones led the Rams with 22 points, 10 assists and 6 steals.
Coach Manny Furtado said, “Simply put, we had way too many turnovers tonight, and Ryerosn capitalized on them. Our guys never quit a kept on coming back. Winning the final three quarters was a great sign of our effort this evening.”
The men’s basketball team return to Thunder Bay to play their final home game of the regular season, against Western, on Saturday Feb 14.
