Thunder Bay – SPORTS – The Lakehead University Thunderwolves men’s basketball team completed their weekend series vs the Hibbing College Cardinals, winning 81-63 on Saturday afternoon.
It was unclear in the early going whether Hibbing had more energy, having gotten a good night’s sleep in Thunder Bay, or if Lakehead was approaching the game with a lacklustre attention to detail.
Whatever the case was, the Cardinals, with a 2-3 zone defense packing the paint, were hanging tough with the ‘Wolves on this occasion. They made the ‘Wolves work for everything and trailed 37-30 at the half.
Transfer guard Nick Burke was a spark for the ‘Wolves, as he pushed the pace in transition to keep Hibbing from getting their zone D setup. He hit four 3’s on six attempts and totalled 23 points on the game.
Henry Tan was also gunning from the outside, hitting five of his ten long-range attempts and finishing with 21 points.
Hibbing had three players score in double figures, led by Elliott Johnson with 17.
Despite the team’s frustrations earlier in the game, Lakehead surged forward as the second half progressed. A four-point-play by Nick Soulias with two minutes to play but a lock on it for Lakehead.
The regular season begins for Lakehead next week, Nov 6-7 with the ‘Wolves hosting the Guelph Gryphons.
