THUNDER BAY -- The shots just aren’t dropping for the Lakehead Thunderwolves.
Against a team like the Windsor Lancers, it’s a recipe for disaster.
The Wolves hung with the visiting Lancers, who sit just outside the national top 10 this week, for most of the first half on Saturday night, the two teams changing leads 16 times in the opening 18 minutes.
But a late 7-0 surge to end the second quarter was matched by an equal run to start the third and the Lancers pulled away en route to an 83-69 win at the Thunderdome to claw back to .500 at 2-2.
Windsor put together a 26-3 run that spanned the half and left Lakehead coach Manny Furtado wondering what can be done to help his shooters find the bottom of the net.
“We talk about how we start and end quarters and halves and whatnot. We didn’t end that second quarter or first half right and we certainly didn’t start the second half right. And I think that was it. The momentum carried from the second quarter right into the second half,” Furtado said.
“They kind of put us on our heels. They hit some major shots, made some real nice passes and at times looked like they were toying with us, really.”
The third-year coach said shooting has been the Thunderwolves Achilles heel all season long, and a big reason why they’re 1-4 and staring down must wins next weekend at home against York and Queen’s.
The Wolves landed just 27 of 75 shots fired up and were only 8-for-35 from beyond the arc – successful on just two of 17 second-half attempts.
“I need to get some solutions. I need to figure out something. I need to change up what we’re doing in practice, because obviously it’s not working,” Furtado said.
“From us missing wide-open shots to some of the turnovers we’re creating, it’s kind of surprising considering we’re supposed to be a veteran group and we’re definitely not playing as veterans right now.”
Lakehead was at a loss to stop the Lancers top two players on the night. Micqueel Martin led all scorers with 27 points, adding nine rebounds. Mike Rocca collected 21 points and eight boards, dishing out six assists in a dominant performance.
Bacarius Dinkins dropped 16 for Lakehead and completed the double-double with 10 rebounds. Kache Kopec, with a rare start, had 12, all in the second half as he and the bench ate up minutes, the game well out of hand.
“I think they’re a really physical team and you can tell when you’re playing against them they compete every single day in practice,” Kopec said.
“The tough shots they’re hitting, you don’t hit shots like that with a lot of contact in practice. I think after the first couple of quarters they started to out-tough us a little bit and that’s something you never want to happen in basketball. We have to find a way to keep the motor running.”
