Marian University erased a one-point halftime deficit with a big second half and the Lakeland College men's basketball team was defeated 82-65 Thursday evening at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.
The Sabres outscored the Muskies 47-29 in the final 20 minutes, shooting 54.2% for the half and the game. Marian also out-rebounded Lakeland 19-6 in the second half and 39-21 for the game, as the Muskies lost their second straight game and dropped into a tie with the Sabres in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference standings at 7-4 in league play.
Lakeland (11-5 overall) led almost the entire first half and held a slim 36-35 lead at halftime, but could not put it together in the second half. The Muskies shot 40.0% in the second half and committed nine of their 14 turnovers.
Marian (8-8 overall) overcame its own 18 turnovers by hanging around in the first half and then having few empty possessions on the offensive end in the second half. The Sabres shot 13 of 24, added seven offensive rebounds and also made 18 of 20 free throws, all in the second half.
The visitors took the lead for good when Josh Creed hit a short jumper to make it 46-44 with 15:36 to play. The Muskies still were right there with under ten minutes left when
Brandon Hagenow (
Jr.-Sussex, Wis.) drilled a three-pointer to make it 56-54 with 9:39 to play, but the Sabres took control with an 11-2 run for a 67-56 lead.
It started to become apparent it may not be the Muskies' night when Marian's Creed and Brandon McCallum both made three-pointers in the second half. Creed and McCallum came into the game a combined 1-for-12 from behind the arc, but both swished triples during that 11-2 run that helped the Sabres pull away late.
Hagenow led Lakeland with 13 points while
Kurt Jansen (Sr.-Wrightstown, Wis.) added 12 points off the bench. The Muskies shot 42.3% for the game (22 of 52), including 6 of 15 from three-point range and 15 of 21 (71.4%) from the free throw stripe.
Creed finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds for Marian, making 8 of 11 from the floor. Montrell Dobbs added 19 points and also was 8 of 11 shooting.
Lakeland is home again Saturday when it faces Aurora University at 4:15 p.m. at the Woltzen Gymnasium in another conference game.
