Wolves steal win

Greg Carter could see the game slipping away.

But Lakehead’s speedy third-year guard wasn’t about to let it happen. Not on his watch. Not in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Thunderdome.

The Ottawa native made three third-quarter steals that led to baskets, drained a three-pointer and kept the No. 7 Windsor Lancers shooters on their heels as crunch time arrived, sparking the No. 9 Thunderwolves to a 73-65 triumph that lodged LU alone atop the OUA West Division.

Carter, who had five steals, six assists and eight points on the night, said after losing an eight-point first-quarter lead and finding themselves down by one at the half, the Wolves (12-3) needed a change of pace after the break.

“We just had to pick up the ball pressure and the guards had to start rebounding better. A lot of their guards were getting rebounds in the first half and that gave them excess chances in the second quarter,” Carter said.

Those chances were all but non-existent in the second 20 minutes. When the rebounds did manage to fall into Lancer hands Carter and Jamie Searle – who had three steals and led the Wolves with 17 points – were there to take the ball away.

“Greg just took over the game defensively,” said fellow guard Ben Johnson, who came off the bench to score five points, including a three late in the fourth that all but put the game away.

“His defence really brought us up, and then everyone started going from there – Searle made big shots and Ven(zal Russell) made penetration. Pretty much those guys just did a great job in the second half.”

Russell finished with 16.

Carter was especially effective late in the third, as the Wolves, who went on a 9-0 run to start the period, threatened to pull away again, having allowed Windsor to creep to within four.

After post Yoosrie Salhia powered to the hoop and double pumped his way to a basket that gave Lakehead a 46-40 lead, Carter stole the ball and scored to extend the lead to eight. Then he did it again on Windsor’s ensuing possession, dishing a rebound off his own missed shot to Matt Schmidt for a pair and a 10-point advantage.

“I just felt that their guards were getting tired so I decided to pick up my ball pressure and eventually got some steals off of it,” Carter said, humbly.

Windsor’s Andre Smyth and Isaac Kuon, the second-leading scorer in the OUA, hit back-to-back threes to start the fourth, but after Searle stretched the lead to five again, Carter made the Lancers (11-4) pay for a turnover, draining a three to make it 55-47.

After Enrico Diloreto scooped in two of his game-high 22, the Wolves then went on a 13-4 run, and coasted home from there.

Lakehead coach Scott Morrison, who was worried at the half about breakdowns on defence, said it feels good to be in first place, but it’s not something he plans to ponder.

“If we start thinking about it, it won’t be that long that we have it. The old saying is that if you’re still thinking about what you did yesterday, you haven’t done much today. We’ve got about 90 minutes left to enjoy it and then we’ve got to start thinking about how we can put two on the board tomorrow night.”

Claw marks: LU forward Brandon King was on the sidelines Friday night, and could be there for some time. King has a tendon issue in his right ankle, and was using crutches to get around. Morrison said he’s hoping King will be able to return to action before the season ends ... Several Lakehead players wore pink shoelaces to support the fight against breast cancer.