THUNDER BAY – SPORTS – The Lakehead men’s basketball team opened the 2018/2019 season with a tough loss to the Regina Cougars, 88-84, Thursday in the Thunderdome.
A seemingly brand new team with an entirely new energy heading into this season, the Thunderwolves were right there with the Cougars from tip-off. The two teams went back and forth for the majority of the first half with Isaiah Traylor putting up 11 points and 3 steals in the first 20 minutes. By halftime, Lakehead led the Cougars 45-44.
Regina pulled away late in the third with a 67-56 advantage heading into the fourth. The Thunderwolves were not going to give up that easy and bounced back to outscore the Cougars 28-21 in the quarter. Isaiah Traylor hit two free throws with one minute left, making it a two-point game but Lakehead couldn’t grab the lead and Regina finished the night off winning 88-84.
“I was happy with the way we battled back in the fourth quarter. What really did us in was the third quarter where we took some bad shots, forced the issue and then we were struggling to contain and talk in transition,” said head coach Ryan Thomson after the game.
Isaiah Traylor stood out tonight with 23 total points, 10 rebounds. Lock Lam also was big for the T-Wolves putting up 19 points and Nick Burke and Davarius Wright had 12 and 11 points.
Lakehead struggled on the free throw line but turned the Cougars over 21 times. Reginas bench was also big for them scoring 46 points while the Thunderwolves bench contributed 19.
“It was good to get some game experience for our new group and hopefully we can bring a bit more discipline and focus tomorrow evening.” – Ryan Thomson
Lakehead rematches Regina Friday in another non-conference game at 8 PM in the Thunderdome.
Week Basketball Schedule @ the Thunderdome
Friday, September 21
WBB vs Algoma @ 6pm
MBB vs Regina @ 8pm
Photo Credit: Jarron Childs
