Russell, Schmidt come up big for winning Wolves

Venzal Russell had 23 points, one of four Thunderwolves to hit double digits, powering Lakehead to an 82-73 win Friday over the host Brock Badgers.

It was part of a monster effort by the Detroit import, who grabbed 13 boards to complete the double-double and finished two assists shy of making it a rare triple-double.

The win helped LU maintain a one-game edge in the OUA West, where their 17-2 record tops all teams with three games left before playoffs begin.

Coach Scott Morrison was without the services of injured pivot Yoosrie Salhia, who did not see action against the Badgers.
Anthony Johnson proved a more than capable fill-in, putting up 15 points for a third straight game in double figures for the first-year forward.

Matthew Schmidt was also impressive again, notching 17 points for the winning side.

Andrew Ferguson topped all Badgers scorers, finishing the game with 19.

Morrison, who was also without injured forward Brendan King, was of two minds about the win.

"On the one hand we played hard and received some good production from our bench bigs in the absence on Salhia and King. 

"On the other hand we had the chance to put Brock away in the secnd half and let them back in the game with sloppy transition defense and some poor turnovers. We also gave Brock some good looks openetration kick-outs by being a little slow on our rotations," Morrison said in a release issued by the team.

The two teams will meet up again Saturday night in St. Catharines.