SAULT STE. MARIE - Lake Superior State averaged one turnover a minute during the first six minutes of Thursday's Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball game against a pesky Lake Erie defense, but settled down and weathered the Storm, winning 62-57 Thursday at Bud Cooper Gymnasium.

LSSU (11-5 overall, 5-4 GLIAC) fell behind 11-5 while sputtering through the game's opening minutes, but came back to lead 32-27 at halftime. The Lakers shot 51.2 percent from the field, posting their third straight outing with a 50-percent or better shooting rate.

Junior guard Kyle Hunt totaled 22 points and seven rebounds to lead the Lakers. Senior center Justin Williams, taking advantage of several alley-oop feeds from Micah Hudson and Hunt, contributed a season-high 15 points. Sophomore forward Derek Kinney added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Freshman guard Derek Billing finished with nine points and five rebounds, and senior guard Micah Hudson added a season-high six assists.

Lake Erie (5-10 overall, 1-7 GLIAC), which held a slim lead for about 10 minutes during the second half, went ahead 50-45 with 11:14 remaining. LSSU responded with a 13-0 run that included scoring by Hunt, Billing, Kinney and Williams.

The Storm closed within three, 60-57, with 1:08 remaining and had a chance to tie the game after the Lakers missed a three-point attempt with 43 seconds left. Kinney rebounded a Lake Erie miss with 17 seconds to go, was fouled and made both free throws for a five-point cushion.

Guard Riley Thomas led Lake Erie with 20 points and five assists. The Storm shot 38.6 percent from the field, including 8-of-21 from three-point range, and made 5-of-8 free throws.

LSSU made 4-of-12 three-point attempts and 14-of-23 free throws. The Lakers out-rebounded LEC, 36-27, and finished with 11 turnovers.

Lake Superior State plays host to Ashland at 1 p.m. Saturday. It's NCAA Take a Kid to the Game Day, and all boys and girls age 14 and under will be admitted for free if accompanied by an adult who purchases a ticket.

LSSU vs. Lake Erie Boxscore