Wolves retain top hoops spot

Undeterred by the return of Badger stars Clinton Springer-Williams and Didi Mukendi, the Lakehead Thunderwolves men’s basketball team routed Brock for a second consecutive game, Saturday night at St. Catharines.

The 72-53 win keeps No. 8 Lakehead (16-4) cemented in first place in the OUA West while Brock (8-12) is tied with Laurier for sixth as the two teams fight for the final divisional playoff seed.

Sophomore post Yoosrie Salhia (Toronto) was a force for LU, posting 20 points on 8-14 shooting with 12 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass to push the Thunderwolves to a huge 46-27 rebounding advantage. Senior Jamie Searle provided the perimeter offence with 16 points including four 3-pointers with nine rebounds and three steals. Brendan King (Petawawa, Ontario) shot 5-7 from the field en route to 14 points.

Mike Cruikshank recovered from a one-point Friday-night effort to lead the Badgers with 13 points but Springer-Williams and Mukendi were limited to a combined 4-20 from the field with 11 and five points, respectively.

Lakehead opened well, leading by five through one quarter but the Badgers erased that lead to tie things up at 27 by halftime. From there, it was all Thunderwolves as the visitors restored their five-point advantage after three quarters and took complete control in the fourth, winning the final 10 minutes 27-13.

The Thunderwolves’ defensive intensity was top notch as they limited the Badgers to a 27.5 per cent shooting effort while knocking down 42.4 per cent of their field goals. Brock shot well from beyond the arc going 7-14 to LU’s 6-21 while the hosts also won the free throw battle, going 18-22 from the charity stripe. Lakehead shot 10-17 on their foul shots.

Lakehead will close their OUA regular season next Friday and Saturday at the C. J. Sanders Fieldhouse when they host the Western Mustangs.