The Lakeland College men's basketball team weathered an early challenge from Silver Lake College and then asserted complete control, going on to an 89-59 non-conference victory Friday night at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.

The Muskies dominated inside on the offensive end with a big 40-18 advantage in paint points. Defensively, Lakeland took advantage of 24 Silver Lake turnovers to improve to 4-3 overall this year.

Tanner Hackl (Sr.-West De Pere, Wis.) led the power up front with 15 points and seven rebounds and made 7 of 8 shots from the field. He was one of six to score in double figures for the Muskies, who defeated their neighbors from Manitowoc for the eighth straight year.

In addition to field goals in the paint, Lakeland also repeatedly got to the free throw line, hitting 26 of 33 foul shots (78.8%). That was especially true in the first half, when the Muskies got the Lakers (4-14 overall) into foul trouble and shot 23 free throws, making 17.

Silver Lake held its own for most of the first half, in particular the first 10 minutes. The two teams swapped the lead five times early and were tied at 15-15 after 10 minutes, but a jumper by Pat McDonald (Fr.-Port Washington, Wis.) put the Muskies ahead for good with 9:19 left in the half.

The Lakers still trailed by just four after a three-point play by Pat Zemanovic made it 28-24 with 4:34 left in the half, but Lakeland finished the half on a 14-4 run to take a 42-28 halftime lead. The Muskies then took full control in the second half, putting the game out of reach with a 21-6 run for a 69-41 lead.

Joshuan McNeal (So.-Chicago, Ill.) scored 13 points, Brandon James (So.-Rockford, Ill.) totaled 12, McDonald scored 11 and both Travis Kell (Jr.-Madison, Wis.) and Zach Van Engen (Sr.-Sheboygan Falls, Wis.) scored 10 points each. Lakeland shot 45.3% for the game (29 of 64), committed just 10 turnovers, and led by James and Van Engen received 30 points from its bench. A total of 14 players scored in the game for the Muskies.

Silver Lake shot 35.7% for the game (20 of 56) and committed 24 turnovers, including 15 in the second half. Zemanovic and Denzel Smith scored 12 points each to lead the Lakers, who outrebounded Lakeland 41-38.

The Muskies go on the road for their next game Tuesday when they travel to take on Concordia University Chicago at 7 p.m. in River Forest, Ill.