“That was an upset?”
Uttering the question on Friday night, coach Manny Furtado meant no disrespect to the McMaster Marauders, the No. 4 team in the nation. He was giving props to his team, a Lakehead Thunderwolves squad that stormed back from a 10-point deficit after three quarters to knock off McMaster 73-67 in front of a packed house at the C.J. Sanders Field House.
The Wolves did it on the back of Bacarius Dinkins, who for the second straight game dropped 27 points on an opponent and grabbed 15 rebounds to boot, a one-man wrecking crew who played most of the night in serious foul trouble.
“I’m kind of looking at myself now, kicking myself in the butt saying I should have given this guy the ball a lot more earlier in the season probably,” Furtado said.
“The big thing we challenged him with this week was consistency, bringing that same effort every time. He did that again tonight. And you know what, we’re going to play through him. He’s going to get some touches. If they’re going to double him, hopefully he can get a good read and get it to our guards.”
The soft-spoken Dinkins, a native of Jonesville, Fla., quickly showed he was going to be a force to be reckoned with, scoring the first three buckets of the contest.
“I’m just getting out there playing, knowing what I can do, knowing I can play against any team out here. I’m just trying my hardest every time I step out on the court and hope for the best.”
Just how important is he to the Thunderolves game plan?
Pulled with 4:13 go in the opening half after picking up his third foul of the night, the Wolves trailed by just six. By halftime the deficit was 11.
They could only close the gap by one through three, the Maurauders answering the Wolves bucket for bucket.
But Dinkins returned to start the fourth and hit a quick basket, guard Alex Robichaud following up with a three-pointer to cut the 10-point deficit in half.
A powerful two-handed dunk by Jack Bull drew the Wolves within three, but on the Wolves next possession Robichaud missed a three-pointer that could have tied the contest 60-60.
Still, it was clear the comeback was on.
Guard Nick Burke drained a long three with 6:11 to go to pull the Wolves within a point, then Henry Tan, who finished with 14 points, went coast-to-coast to give LU its first lead since the opening quarter.
McMaster's Troy Joseph scored to give the visitor's the lead one last time, but Robichaud erased the lead with a turnaround jumper.
Burke, who struggled much of the contest, came through in the clutch again, this time at the free-throw line, less than a minute remaining in the game. Moment's later McMaster’s Connor Gilmore missed a contested three-pointer, Dinkins hauling in the rebound and hitting a free throw with seconds left to seal the victory.
Furtado was ecstatic.
“You don’t even know how good this feels,” he said.
The Wolves (5-5) and Marauders (9-3) meet again on Saturday night. Tip-off is 8 p.m.
