Eric Nygaard (Jr.-Plymouth, Wis.) had a big steal and two clutch free throws with 15 seconds left in the game and the Lakeland University men's basketball team held off rival Concordia University Wisconsin 91-88 Saturday afternoon at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.

Nygaard came up with a steal on a Falcons fast break for a potential go-ahead basket and then hit two ensuing free throws for a three-point lead. It held up as Concordia missed a tying three-point try in the final seconds and the Muskies earned their first Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference win of the season.

Lakeland (3-1 overall, 1-1 NACC) held on after CUW had whittled a nine-point deficit down to one in the final minute, winning a game that was close the entire way and featured 12 ties and 18 lead changes. The Muskies led for the final 7 minutes, 47 seconds though on the strength of hot shooting in the second half and all five starters contributing heavily.

Lakeland shot 52.8% in the second half, making 19 of 36 shots by repeatedly hitting pull-up jumpers or driving to the basket. All five starters also scored in double figures for the Muskies, combining for 80 of the team's 91 points.

Pat McDonald (Jr.-Port Washington, Wis.) scored 21 points, Carlos Campos (So.-Janesville, Wis.) scored 18 and Shakur Jinad (So.-Chicago, Ill.) scored 17. Zach Hasenstein (Fr.-Sheboygan, Wis.) also scored 13 and tied Campos for team rebounding honors with eight, and Nygaard added 11 points and seven rebounds.

The game was tied 74-74 until the Muskies outscored the Falcons (1-3 overall, 0-1 NACC) 13-4 over a stretch of 4:15 late in the second half, taking an 87-78 lead when Campos converted a three-point play. Lakeland never trailed again, though Concordia made it a one-possession game when Isaiah Tennette scored a three-point play with 50 seconds remaining, The guests then came up with a steal by Jake Jurss with 20 seconds left, but Nygaard hustled back and came up a pass into traffic to steal it back.

Neither team led by more than nine points throughout, with CUW's earliest lead coming at 14-7 just 4:28 into the game. Lakeland quickly came back to tie the score, and the game settled into a back-and-forth tug of war for the rest of the first half and well into the second.

The Muskies shot 46.8% for the game, making 37 of 79 shots, and also committed just four turnovers, including none in the first half in building a 46-41 lead at the break. Concordia shot 42.9% (33 of 77) and also hit 12 of 26 from three-point range. The Falcons also out-rebounded Lakeland 50-41 and were led by Josh Erickson with 24 points and Jurss with 23, including six three-pointers.

The win allowed the Muskies to even the all-time series between the two schools. Both have now won 62 times each in 124 games played between the two in a series that dates back to 1938.

The Muskies return to play Tuesday when they travel to face Dominican University in a conference game on the road in River Forest, Ill., at 7 p.m.