SAULT STE. MARIE - Lake Superior State coach Steve Hettinga, who is known to be a bit superstitious, may not have ever worn pink again if his Lakers had let Saturday's game slip away.

LSSU, whose players were garnished in pink while participating in the GLIAC Pink Wave effort to wipe out breast cancer, relinquished an 11-point first-half lead and trailed by as many as six points late in the second half. The Lakers made key defensive stops during the final minute to pull out a 79-75 victory over Ashland.

Lake Superior State (17-6 overall, 14-4 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) had a hard time stopping AU's 6-8, 265-pound center Kale Richardson, who scored during back-to-back possessions to give the Eagles a 75-71 lead with 1:38 remaining in the game. He then fouled LSSU's Tim VanOudheusden, who made the front end of a one-and-one and scored after teammate Scott Perkins rebounded the missed second free throw.

Ashland was passing the ball around the perimeter when LSSU freshman Kyle Hunt stole it in the corner. The turnover led to a field goal by Laker Garrett Konuszewski, who put the Lakers on top, 76-75, with 43 seconds to go.

VanOudheusden grabbed a defensive rebound at the 28-second mark and made one of two free throws for a 77-75 Laker advantage. After an Ashland timeout, LSSU's forced an Eagles pass out of bounds with eight seconds remaining. Hunt made both free throws when AU was forced to foul four seconds later.

VanOudheusden finished with 22 points, while Mark Morse was 5-of-7 from three-point range and totaled 17 points. Perkins was 3-for-4 from behind the arc and contributed 16 points and five assists. Ryan Kuhl, who had the tough assignment of defending Richardson, totaled eight points and eight rebounds. Konuszewski added four assists and three steals.

Richardson finished with 18 points and 20 rebounds. The Eagles out-rebounded LSSU, 41-32.

LSSU shot 50.9 percent from the field, including 11-of-21 from three-point range, and made 12-of-22 free throws on its way to recording its fifth straight win.

Ashland shot 43.3 percent from the field, including 7-of-20 from three-point range. The Eagles made 16-of-24 free throws.

LSSU plays at Grand Valley State on Feb. 19.

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