Thunder Bay Thrilled by LU Win

THUNDER BAY – Lakehead University Sports – The men’s basketball team got off to a rocky start, but would salvage the night’s effort as the got a 76-48 win over the Waterloo Warriors.

As the game began Waterloo packed their defense into a tight 2-3 zone, denying Lakehead centre Brent Wallace any daylight in the paint, as the Lakehead offense sputtered to begin the game and would fail to get much traction at all in the first half.

Despite trailing by 10 late in the 2nd quarter, the Warriors would claw to within 4 points with some well executed plays, combined with undisciplined defense by Lakehead leading to Waterloo free throws.

The ‘Wolves led 28-24 at halftime.

Lakehead would find its stride (and their touch from outside the arc) in the third quarter, out-scoring Waterloo 27-14, and would coast from there to the final buzzer.

Igor Lebov continued his consistent play, scoring a game-high 15 points before fouling out with 5 minutes remaining. Dwayne Harvey and Anthony McIntosh both had 13 points and 3 assists, while Henry Tan potted 12 points with 7 helpers.

The Warriors were led by Jaspreet Gill with 12 points and 5 rebounds.

Lakehead out-rebounded Waterloo 34-19, but committed 18 turnovers to the Warriors’ 16.

Friday evening saw the return of Joey Nitychoruk (Winnipeg, Man.) from the injured list to the ‘Wolves lineup for the first time in the regular season. His high-energy play, earning him the name ‘Joey Nitro’ among fans, was once again present, as he finished the game with 7 points in 7 minutes of play.

Josh Bell (Mississauga, Ont.) also returned to the lineup after several weeks off due to injury.

The two teams rematch tomorrow evening at 8pm in the Thunderdome.

Webcast available via SSN Canada.
Audio broadcast available via LU Radio, 102.7FM.