SAULT STE. MARIE - Lake Superior State mounted one of its second-half comebacks that made the 2013-14 men's basketball season so successful, but Wednesday's rally wasn't enough.

The Lakers fought back from a 20-point first-half deficit to close within five points with 3:11 remaining during their Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinal game against Malone. The Pioneers stood firm during the final 2 1/2 minutes and claimed a 73-65 upset victory.

LSSU (26-5) entered the GLIAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed, while Malone (15-12) was No. 8. The Pioneers avenged an early-season four-point loss to the Lakers.

The semifinal and championship rounds of the tournament will now be played at No. 2 seed Findlay, which ousted Hillsdale, 67-47. No. 3 seed Walsh and No. 4 Michigan Tech also advanced.

As of Wednesday, the Lakers are still the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Midwest Region and will await a NCAA Division II regional tournament bid, which will be announced during Sunday's selection show at 10:30 p.m. Bids will be announced on www.ncaa.com. The top eight teams in the region will advance to the regional tournament.

Derek Billing scored 31 points, and Cameron Metz totaled 16 points and nine rebounds to lead Lake Superior State. Daniel Wise totaled 23 points and nine rebounds for Malone.

Malone out-scored LSSU 11-3 by taking advantage of nine first-half Laker turnovers and built a 41-21 command. LSSU trimmed the deficit to 10 points, 46-36, during the first seven minutes of the second half and cut it to 60-55 at the 3:11 mark.

A Metz dunk at 2:32 made it 62-57, but Malone's Che Richardson answered with a three-pointer and LSSU failed to get closer.

Lake Superior State shot 39.7 percent from the field for the game (29.6 percent during the first half) and was 5-of-17 from three-point range. The Lakers made 14-of-16 free throws.

Malone shot 48.2 percent from the field, including 4-of-15 from behind the arc, and made 15-of-20 free throws.

LSSU out-rebounded Malone, 36-33.

Boxscore