The Lakeland College men's basketball team came out of the gates strong and was consistent from start to finish in an 86-57 defeat of Dominican (Ill.) University Saturday afternoon in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference game.

The Muskies shot 56.9% for the game, making 33 of 58 shots and never trailing in defeating the Stars for the second time this season. Lakeland improved to 13-9 overall and remains in the thick of the chase for a spot in the NACC Tournament, moving to 9-8 in league play.

The Muskies outscored Dominican (4-16 overall, 2-13 NACC) 21-6 over the final eight minutes of the first half to blow open a close game and take a 43-22 lead into the break. Lakeland shot 53.3% in the first half, making 16 of 30 shots while holding the visiting Stars to 27.3% shooting (9 of 33).

Lakeland was even better in the second half, hitting 17 of 28 field goals (60.7%). Dominican, meanwhile, continued to struggle from the floor and finished the game hitting just 26.9% of its shots (18 of 67).

Tanner Hackl (Sr.-West De Pere, Wis.) finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Muskies, including a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) in the first half alone. Brandon James (So.-Rockford, Ill.) added 13 points while Joshuan McNeal (So.-Chicago, Ill.) and Pat McDonald (Fr.-Port Washington, Wis.) scored 12 points each.

Tim Robertson led Dominican with 24 points and nine rebounds, but no other Stars player scored more than eight points. The visitors also were ice-cold from three-point range, making just 4 of 34.

Lakeland now gets ready to host Milwaukee School of Engineering for a key conference game Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at the Woltzen Gym. The Raiders are one-half game behind the Muskies in the NACC standings, and both are among a group of five teams separated by 1 1/2 games in the standings.