SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Lake Superior State (LSSU) men's basketball team (28-6) earned a 76-64 victory over the Lincoln Blue Tigers (23-9) in the opening round of the 2025 NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament on Saturday behind a 26-point opening half from Tyson Edmondson (Ypsilanti, Mich.).

The Blue Tigers came out of the gate strong with an early lead, but Edmondson kept his team in it, draining three-pointer after three-pointer to draw the Lakers back within one. LSSU would then take the lead for the first time in the game with an 8-0 run, a lead that they would never give up for the remainder of the contest. Lincoln would continue to battle, but Edmondson always had an answer as he finished the opening half with 26 points, trailing the Blue Tigers by seven by himself with Laker legend and the program's all-time leading scorer, Gary Fors, in attendance, and LSSU found themselves ahead 44-33 at the break. 

The Blue Tigers fought back early in the second half, opening the second stanza with an 8-2 run to draw back within five. Lincoln continued to grind their way back to within three before a three from Adam Harakow (Edmonton, Alta.) put the Lakers back up by six. However, back to back threes from Lincoln's Tyler Chapman, including a desperation heave after securing a loose ball at the end of the shot clock, tied up the score at 59-59. With all of the momentum seemingly in favor of the seven-seeded Blue Tigers, the Lakers would not flinch, rattling off a 10-0 run to retake full control of the game behind back-to-back clutch threes by Devin Womack (Ypsilanti, Mich.). LSSU would then close out the game at the charity stripe, dancing their way to the second round of the tournament and securing a program-record 28th win on the season.

Edmondson led all players in scoring with 30 points on the day while Harakow joined him in double figures with 13 points of his own. Meanwhile, Hunter Soper (Lexington, Mich.) led all players in assists and rebounds with 4 and 9, respectively.

The Lakers will now turn their attention to GLIAC rival Michigan Tech whom they will face in the regional semifinals on Sunday, March 16 with tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m.