THUNDER BAY – The Lakehead Thunderwolves scored so much on Friday night, the scorekeeper couldn’t keep up.
When all was said and done and the Thunderwolves had dispatched the visiting Algoma Thunderbirds, the scoreboard read 106-71. The game sheet, however, recorded the final as 108-71.
One thing was abundantly clear.
The Thunderwolves absolutely did not take the 3-17 Thunderbirds for granted, or find themselves guilty of looking beyond an expected blowout to Saturday’s highly-anticipated regular-season finale against the Carleton Ravens, the No. 2 team in the nation.
If anything, the Wolves focused on the moment on the court, while coach Ryan Thomson used the game as a chance to not only rest his starters for much of the night, but also get his bench some much needed, uninterrupted playing time and some meaningful minutes as the OUA post-season looms.
“As important as getting guys through the game was getting some of those guys off the bench a little more rhythm,” Thomson said.
“I think a guy like Javy (Fernandez) played well tonight. Jared (Kreiner) made some shots and Chris (Sagl) was in rhythm from the start. Those are the kind of contributions we need going forward from everybody. For those guys to do that tonight, and hopefully use that for momentum tomorrow and the rest of the way is huge.”
Sagl, whose 21 minutes off the bench was tops on the team, had a monster finish, putting up nine of his team-best 18 points in the fourth, the starting five, save guard Alston Harris, long retired to the bench.
Kreiner dropped five three-pointers and put up 17 points, just the second time all season he’s hit double digits.
“We’re just looking forward to playoffs and there’s no better time to start feeling your shot than now. We just want to keep pushing and keep peaking at playoff time,” Kreiner said.
LU’s bench actually outscored the starters, 57-51. Seth Johnson, who only had five points all season, put up eight, most of his damage coming after the Thunderwolves opened a 55-32 lead at halftime.
The Thunderbirds were simply overmatched.
Taleh Wade led the visitors with 13 points off the bench.
Thomson said there was always the possibility that his players would be focusing more on Carleton, and a chance to take top spot in the OUA Central – needing a win over the Ravens, combined with a Brock Badgers loss to Toronto Metropolitan, a team they beat 74-71 on Friday night.
The T-Wolves could still earn a first-round bye finishing second in the division, but would need to beat Carleton and Queen’s would have to lose to Laurentian, a team with just three wins to its name. A loss could drop LU as low as sixth, which would still guarantee they’d open the playoffs at home.
“I think there’s always that opportunity to think of the next team, but I think our guys did a great job just staying in the moment, being present and working to execute,” Thomson said.
Lakehead shot 50 per cent from the field for the game, out-rebounded Algoma 51-34 and out-stole them 9-3.
Tip-off on Saturday night is scheduled for 8 p.m., but senior night ceremonies will push the start time back a bit. The game is expected to be close to a sell-out.
In the paint: The Thunderwolves are ranked 14th in the country by ELO, the offical USports Top 10 measurement, but are ninth in the coaches' poll.
