ASHLAND, Ohio - Lake Superior State held Ashland to eight first-half field goals to take early control of Friday's Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball game. Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field in the second half, but the Lakers prevailed 85-77 for their first conference win of the season.

LSSU (4-4 overall, 1-2 GLIAC), which held the lead from start to finish, got back-to-back three-pointers from Mark Morse and Tim VanOudheusden to build a 25-9 command with 10:57 remaining in the first half. The Lakers were up 43-30 at halftime.

Ashland (3-3 overall, 1-2 GLIAC) went on an 8-0 run to cut the Lakers' lead to one point, 62-61, with 10:40 to go in the second half. LSSU's Scott Perkins answered with a three-pointer and a free throw, and the Lakers eventually regained a double-digit lead, 74-64, with 8:01 remaining.

The Eagles threatened one more time, going on a 10-2 run and trimming their deficit to two points, 76-74, with 5:26 left. LSSU scored the next nine points on a Ryan Kuhl layup, a VanOudheusden three-point play, and two free throws each by Garrett Konuszewski and VanOudheusden. The Lakers put the game out of reach, 85-74, with two minutes remaining.

VanOudheusden once again flirted with his career high of 29 points. This time he tied his season high with 28 points and three assists, while Kuhl totaled 18 points and five rebounds. It was the fourth time this season that VanOudheusden scored 20 or more points.

Perkins finished with 13 points and five assists. Mark Morse scored nine points and had three steals, and Kyle Hunt came off the bench to contribute eight points, four rebounds and three assists.

Kale Richardson scored 22 points to lead four Ashland double-figure scorers. The Eagles shot 46.7 percent from the field, including 7-of-13 from three-point range. They made 28-of-34 free throws. They shot 59 percent from the field in the second half.

LSSU shot 49.2 percent from the field, including 53.8 percent in the second half. The Lakers were 8-of-27 from three-point range and 15-of-18 at the free-throw line. They held a 30-29 rebounding edge.

LSSU, which is .500 through its first eight games of 2008-09 after starting out 1-7 in 2007-08, plays at Saginaw Valley State at 3 p.m. Sunday.

Box Score