THUNDER BAY – A frantic fourth-quarter comeback couldn’t quite offset a disastrous third and fell four points short for the new-look Lakehead Thunderwolves on Thursday night.
The men’s basketball team stormed back from 15 points down to take the lead with less than three minutes to go, but couldn’t hang on against the visiting Regina Cougars and dropped an 88-84 decision to open non-conference play at the C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse.
Lakehead hit just three of 20 shots they took in the third against their Canada West opponent, who outscored the Thunderwolves 23-11 to turn a one-point halftime deficit into a 10-point lead.
The shooting woes followed LU to the charity stripe, where they hit just 13 of 24 free throw attempts, while Regina was good on 18 of 21.
It was the difference, said second-year coach Ryan Thomson, who guided the Wolves to a 2-12 record last season, taking the reins after the Christmas break.
“That third quarter really hurt us,” Thomson said. “It was really on us defensively and we couldn’t make a shot. We took a couple of tough ones and then when we did get to the free-throw line, we just couldn’t convert.
“In the fourth quarter I was glad the way we battled back and showed a little bit of resilience, but it was a little bit too little, too late.”
Lakehead trailed the Cougars 75-61 in the fourth when the comeback began, Darnell Curtin burying a long trey.
Rookie Lock Lam, who finished with 19 points and eight boards in his Thunderwolves debut, followed with a three of his own to cut their deficit to eight. Fourth-year guard Davarius Wright, a transfer from Minnesota’s Rainy River College, flew through the key for a powerful one-handed jam that made it a one-possession game, Regina leading 79-76.
Lakehead jumped in front by one when Lam completed a three-point play, but Regina’s Samuel Hillis regained the lead for the visitors with a pair of free throws and Benjamin Hillis put it away with a bomb from beyond the arc.
Though he didn’t get the win, Thomson said he learned his team can probably compete with just about any team.
“As long as we stay committed to what we’re trying to do. We had some bad close-outs and didn’t really do a great job on the glass in that first half,” Thompson said.
The game marked the debut of Thunder Bay’s Jared Kreiner, who buried a three-pointer in the opening half and finished with five points.
Thomson said he was impressed with his rookie crew, including Kreiner, Alston Harris and Blake Anderson.
“I thought they were all solid. Some of it’s just getting used to the speed of the game and the physicality of it,” Thomson said.
Lakehead's Isaiah Traylor, a transfer from the North Alabama University Lions, led all scorers with 23 points, also grabbing 10 boards for a double-double debut.
The two teams will try it again on Friday night, tip-off scheduled for 8 p.m.
