Tough Loss for Lakehead Thunderwolves
THUNDER BAY – SPORTS – The Lakehead University Thunderwolves Mens Basketball team came off a tough pre-season loss Friday night. The foul line hit the TWolves hard in the closing moments of a 90-88 loss to the Winnipeg Wesman.
The Thunderwolves seeking to rebound on Saturday, played a hard fought first half, with the score a very close 38-36 with the Wesman leading.
The Thunderwolves got off to a decent start, leading 18-13 late in the first quarter. That lead would be erased before the end of the frame, as the Wesmen went on a 10-2 run to end the quarter and take a 23-20 lead.
Taking care of the ball was also on the laundry list of concerns for the ‘Wolves in Saturday’s game, as they committed 23 turnovers, compared to Winnipeg’s 12.
While the second quarter went ok for Lakehead (out-scoring Winnipeg 16-15), the 3rd quarter was a complete breakdown, the ‘Wolves getting out-scored 24-12 in the frame as the Wesmen blew the game open, 62-48 with 10 minutes remaining.
Defensive breakdowns were rampant in the 3rd, with Lakehead’s interior looking like a stroll in the park for the Wesmen offense.
Closing minutes of Thunderwolves Game
What little hope of a comeback was dashed late, as Lakehead couldn’t put together the runs they needed to close the gap, be it either missed assignments rebounding the ball, or poor decisions on the offensive end.
Bacarius Dinkins led the ‘Wolves with 21 points and 6 rebounds on 7-14 shooting (7-of-9 FT). Guards Alex Robichaud and Dwayne Harvey did their part on the glass, grabbing 11 rebounds each, with 16 and 12 points, respectively.
Mark McNee netted 19 points while Jelane Pryce scored 18 for the visitors.
Winnipeg shot 52% from the floor, with Lakehead managing a 40% clip from the field.
Coach Manny Furtado remarked, “Defensively we gave up way too many points inside. Add to that our copious turnovers, and we put ourselves in a bad position. Winnipeg made more runs then we did tonight and we were in catch up mode as a result.”
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The men’s team heads to Alberta in 2 weeks for a trio of non-conference match-ups.
