LEBANON, Ill. - The No. 22 Lake Superior State (LSSU) men's basketball team (6-1) came away with a 72-61 victory over the McKendree Bearcats (3-3) at the McKendree DII Classic on Friday. 

Both teams battled early in the opening half as Tyson Edmondson (Ypsilanti, Mich.) and Andy Soma (Traverse City, Mich.) hit from beyond the arc to have LSSU ahead 10-8. Both teams continued to go back and forth, exchanging the lead multiple times as the Bearcats found themselves ahead 20-19, but the Lakers would then take the lead for good with a three from Adam Harakow (Edmonton, Alta.) followed by more threes from Edmondson and Soma on their way to opening up an 11-point advantage going into the halftime break. 

The Bearcats would fight back in the second half, closing to within as close as five points, but the Lakers had an answer at every turn. Edmondson stole the ball away, taking it straight to the hoop for a dunk, Kingsley Perkins (Ypsilanti, Mich.) threw it down midway through the half, and Hunter Soper (Lexington, Mich.) and Devin Womack (Ypsilanti, Mich.) combined to score the Lakers' final 14 points of the game to close out the win.

Edmondson led the way offensively with a 20-point performance while Soma (12), Perkins (12), and Soper (11) also ended the night in double figures. Meanwhile, Soper led all players in rebounding with 9 while also notching 3 steals and a block, and Womack led the team in assists with 6. 

The Lakers will now return home for a top-25 matchup between the No. 22 Lakers and the No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs on Tuesday, Nov. 26 in Bud Cooper Gymnasium with tipoff scheduled for 2 p.m. In addition, the Lakers will be celebrating Laker Friendsgiving, and fans will be able to bring a nonperishable item in exchange for free admission to the game.