Box Score SAULT STE. MARIE -Lake Superior State secured a home game against Hillsdale College in the quarterfinals of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday, March 1, following a 96-94 victory over Northwood at home on Thursday evening.
Helped by a Ferris State loss at Grand Valley State on Thursday, the Lakers (19-9, 14-8 GLIAC) moved into a fourth seed and host the fifth seeded Chargers who were also aided in the Bulldogs collapse. Tuesday's quarterfinal contest is slated for a 7:00 p.m. ET start.
The Timberwolves (15-13, 11-11 GLIAC) entered play Thursday evening needing a win or a Grand Valley State loss and neither scenario came to fruition, ending their season.
Senior forward Devin Daly, appearing in his final regular season home game at Bud Cooper Gymnasium on Thursday, finished with game-highs 33 points and 12 rebounds for his 11th double-double on the season. Daly lit the Timberwolves up with 11-of-14 shooting from the floor, including a blistering 5-for-6 from three-point range.
The native of Mahogany Heights, Belize, Daly also moved into ninth place of the LSSU single-season scoring record with 603 points on the season. Daly ranks second in overall scoring in the GLIAC this season with 21.9 points per game.
The Lakers shot 51.6 percent from the field and 48.1 percent from behind the arc as a team while limiting the Timberwolves to 46.5 percent from the field and 39.3 percent from deep. A total rebounding margin of 44-35, including 15-9 on the offensive glass, helped the Timberwolves close the gap in the second half with the LSSU shooters beginning to cool off.
Jordan Dasuqi helped keep the Lakers hot with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. Fellow starters Akaemji Williams and Michael Nicholson both hit double digits in scoring to help lead the Lakers. Williams scored 17 points but made his impact by finding open shooters for eight assists and also produced six steals on the defensive end. Nicholson found his stride in the second half, netting nine of his 11 total points during the final frame.
With 202 assists on the season, Williams need just three assists to tie Thomas Gordon's single season assist record at LSSU, set in 1986-87.
Carson Manger chipped in 10 points in 22 minutes of reserve duty.
Maurice Jones, Northwood's leading scorer and third leading overall scorer in the GLIAC, finished with a team-high 25 points, but a first half shooting display of 3-for-11 from the field held the senior guard to just 9-of-23 from the floor for the game. Jones warmed up in the second half by shooting 50 percent from both the field (6-for-12) and behind the arc (2-for-4) for 16 points.
Jones, with a listed height of 5-7, also tied for a team-high seven rebounds.
Jermaine Myers, rounding out the senior back-court tandem for the Timberwolves turned in a respectable all-around game as well. Myers finished with 18 points, a game-high nine assists, six rebounds and three steals.
The Timberwolves largest lead came on their first shot of a scoreless game, a three-point basket 24 seconds into play by Jones. The Timberwolves final lead came with a 14-13 score with 14:42 remaining in the first half. The Lakers took a six point lead into the break and never allowed Northwood to recapture the lead through the final 20 minutes.
