THUNDER BAY – For three quarters, the Nipissing Lakers held their own against the Lakehead Thunderwolves.
But by the time the fourth quarter rolled around, they just didn’t have the gas to keep up with a relentless, high-powered attack that bombarded the Lakers offensively and defensively for the final 10 minutes.
When all was said and done, the Thunderwolves out-scored Nipissing 36-9 in the fourth quarter and cruised to a 91-66 win.
It’s hard to believe it was a game that featured 14 lead changes, the 14th and final one taking place a minute into the final frame.
“It was us sticking together through adversity,” said forward Dylan Morrison, who capped a 16-2 run with a hard-fought bucket and free throw that put the T-Wolves up 71-59 midway through the period, having started the fourth trailing by two.
“We’ve been through adversity before, but this game we really had to power through as a team. We were down two at one point and we realized we had to turn it up and that’s what we did in the fourth quarter.”
Morrison, who had 13 on the night, put up 11 in the fourth, tied with Spanish rookie Javier Fernandez, who buried a trio of treys – and one near miss that was ruled a two – to power the T-Wolves to the 25-point win.
“I just tried to do whatever I could, play my role on this team. That’s what everyone tries to do. We had a certain play for me that was working, so we kept running the same thing. They didn’t want to guard it so we just decided to keep attacking it,” said Morrison, fourth-year wing with NCAA experience on his resume.
Coach Ryan Thomson, a member of the 2009 to 2013 era men’s basketball team inducted to the LU Athletics wall of fame earlier in the day, said the team’s defence was what allowed them to roar back from 13 down in the second, following a Tajon Graham triple midway through the quarter.
“This morning, when we were watching the film, we talked about impacting the ball. That first quarter yesterday, we didn’t impact the ball very well. The second, third and fourth, we impacted the ball more,” said Thomson. “I really don’t think we did it today until the fourth quarter.
“We held them to nine points, guys were active, they were switching up. We were getting deflections, which was one of the stats we track and is always key to our success.”
Knowing players like Morrison and Fernandez – and plenty of others – are able to step up when called upon is a big boost of confidence, Thomson said, calling Fernandez a special player with a bright OUA future.
“I thin that’s been the story of our preseason. Through seven games, every game we dress 12 guys. At some point each of those guys have contributed to a win. So I think that’s a lot of positive energy and momentum to know they can contribute when they get their opportunity.”
Michael Okafor led all scorers with 19, while guard Laoui Msambya dished out 16 assists to go with 10 points for the double-double. Fernandez finished with 17. David Lukusa-Kalala led the Lakers with 15 points, while Muktar Mohammed had 12 points and 10 boards for a double-double of his own.
