MILWAUKEE – The Lakeland College men's basketball team came out of the gates on fire, hitting seven three-pointers in the first half on the way to an easy 69-54 win over Wisconsin Lutheran College Wednesday night in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference game.
The Muskies built a 29-point lead in the first half and cruised the rest of the way to improve to 14-8 overall and 10-7 in league play. Lakeland swept the season series with the Warriors, clinched its fifth consecutive winning season and also wrapped up a spot in the NACC Tournament.
The Muskies shot 62.1% in the first half, hitting 18 of 29 shots, including 7 of 10 from three-point range. Lakeland broke out to a 38-9 lead with more than five minutes left in the half and never let the lead fall below 12 the rest of the way, even after the Warriors (10-11 overall, 6-10 NACC) chipped away late.
Travis Kell (
So.-Madison, Wis.) led the Muskies with 14 points, including 10 in the first half when he made five of six shots from the field. He also added eight rebounds as Lakeland finished with a 38-35 rebounding advantage.
Joey Burris (
Sr.-Kiel, Wis.) scored 12 points, grabbed eight rebounds and passed out five assists.
Brandon Hagenow (
Jr.-Sussex, Wis.) added 11 points, including 4-for-4 shooting in the first half.
The Muskies led 43-23 at halftime and led by 25 midway through the second half when
Kurt Jansen (
Sr.-Wrightstown, Wis.) converted a three-point play to make it 57-32. Wisconsin Lutheran chopped the lead down to 12 with just over five minutes left when Christian Walz hit a three-pointer to make it 62-50, but the Warriors scored just four points the rest of the way.
Lakeland cooled down significantly in the second half, shooting just 25.8% (8 of 31) over the final 20 minutes to finish the game at 43.3% (26 of 60). WLC shot 35.1% for the game, making 20 of 57 field goals. Jake Jarnigo scored 16 points and was the only Warrior in double figures.
The Muskies are idle again this weekend and will next play on Tuesday when they travel to take on Marian University at 7 p.m. in Fond du Lac.
