In a matchup of the two highest ranked Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball programs on Sunday evening, No.18-ranked Lake Superior State knocked off No. 16-ranked Ashland University 82-76 at home.

The Lakers (11-1, 6-0 GLIAC) remain unbeaten in conference play thanks in large part to senior forward Devin Daly, who scored 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting to lead the Lakers in scoring.

Sophomore guard Akaemji Williams, as he has done throughout the season, acted as the facilitator of the Lakers offense and a secondary scoring threat to Daly. Williams scored 15 points and dished out 11 assists for his second consecutive game with a double-double after scoring 15 points and 13 assists against Lake Erie on Saturday.

Despite falling behind 11-6 less than five minutes into the game, thanks to a 5-to-0 run by the Eagles capped by a Boo Osbourne three-point basket, the Lakers quickly responded and took a 10 point lead into halftime.

Osbourne led all scorers with a game-high 27 points.

Daly tipped in a missed layup attempt by Williams with just over a minute remaining in the first half, capping a 19-9 run by the Lakers to close the first half.

The Eagles (10-2, 4-2 GLIAC), came out of the locker room with a chip on their shoulders to match the Lakers in field goal shooting with both teams hitting 15-of-31 (48.4 percent) of shots from the floor in the second half.

With 15:54 remaining in the second half the head coach of the Eagles, John Ellenwood, was whistled for a double-technical and was, as a result, ejected from the game. Williams went to the line and made 3-of-4 free throws to put the Lakers up 49-to-35.

Without Ellenwood on the sidelines and staring at a double-digit deficit in the second half, the Eagles rallied to cut the lead to as little as two points following a Wendell Davis three-pointer to make the game 61-59 with 7:15 remaining in the game.

Davis scored 16 points and captured a double-double after hauling in 10 defensive rebounds.

A 6-0 run, sparked by a layup and jumper by Williams and a jump shot from the top of the key by Jordan Dasuqi (11 points), put the Lakers back up 67-59 with 5:28 remaining.

With 14 seconds remaining, Osbourne cut the differential to four points  with a pair of free throws resulting from the fifth personal foul by Daly. Williams, who made 7-of-10 free throws in the contest, secured the victory with a pair of free throws on the other end.

Reserve players Josh Goldschmidt and Jake Blake each provided over 20 minutes of action to help the Lakers score 22 points off of the bench. Goldschmidt scored 11 points and Blake added 11 points and five rebounds.

LSSU became the first team to score 80 points or more on Ashland this season. The Eagles boast the top-ranked scoring defense in the GLIAC, averaging only 63.9 points allowed per game.

The victory also gave Lakers coach Steve Hettinga his 154 coaching victory at LSSU and 250th at the collegiate level, tying the all-time Laker basketball coaching victories record held by LSSU Director of Athletics Kris Dunbar. Hettinga can break the record on Thursday when the Lakers travel to Ohio Dominican.

The Lakers return home to face Grand Valley State on Jan. 21.