The Lakeland University men's basketball team makes its long-awaited return to the court and host its first home athletics event in 311 days when it welcomes North Central (Minn.) University for a non-conference game Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.
The Muskies are hosting their first event since the men's volleyball team defeated Marian University in four sets March 11, 2020 at the Woltzen Gym. Lakeland's spring sports seasons were cancelled two days later due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Muskies were largely sidelined in the fall semester as well due to the coronavirus.
Under current COVID-19 protocols, Lakeland University is currently not allowing any spectators for home sporting events.
Live audio/video/statistics are all available to follow along with at http://www.lakelandmuskies.com/muskieslive. Andy Damp is again calling the play-by-play for all home basketball games this year.
This is the first time the Muskies have met North Central University from Minneapolis, Minn., which shouldn't be confused with North Central College in Naperville, Ill., a school Lakeland has played four times and holds a 3-1 record against all-time. The Rams are the lone current member of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference that the Muskies have never faced before.
About Lakeland: The Muskies begin their season more than two months after originally scheduled, after first semester play was wiped out due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lakeland also is playing one of four non-conference games scheduled to go along with a 10-game Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference North Division slate.
The Muskies finished 13-13 last season and came in at 11-9 in the NACC to finish fourth in conference. Lakeland was defeated in the NACC Tournament quarterfinals, and this year has to replace three starters from a year ago. Two of the top three scorers do return, though, including
Jequan Pegeese (11.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.1 apg in 2019-20) and
Trenton Nickel (10.2 ppg, 56.0% FG), who was named a second team all-NACC pick. Top reserves back include
Tylan Huff (6.2 ppg, 26 3-ptrs),
Eric Jordan (6.2 ppg, 34 3-ptrs) and
Greg Barber (3.8 ppg), and the quartet of Huff, Jordan, Nickel and Pegeese combined to make 119 of the team's NACC-leading 252 three-pointers last year.
About North Central: The Rams are playing for the fifth time in the 2020-21 season and were one of just 30 NCAA Division III schools to play counting games before the new year. North Central most recently faced Dubuque (Iowa) on Wednesday and dropped a 98-68 decision to the Spartans. The Rams were within 14 points with 10 minutes to play before Dubuque pulled away. Seth Fuqua scored 18 points and Micah Filer added 16, including four three-pointers to lead NCU, which was playing for the first time in nearly two months after playing three games in November.
The Rams finished 6-19 last season and tied for seventh in the UMAC with a 3-13 league record. North Central featured four players scoring in double-figures last year-Filer, Fuqua, Jalen Dunlap and Justin Castro-and all four are back this season. The Rams' one win this season came in their opener when they defeated Oak Hill Christian (Minn.) 87-85 on Nov. 18.
Muskies in openers: Lakeland is beginning its 88th season of men's basketball and has had decidedly mixed success in season openers. The Muskies are 45-42 all-time in the first game of the season, including a loss to Carroll (Wis.) last season. The record is better in home openers, with Lakeland boasting a 53-34 mark in its first home games of the campaign.
Latest start ever: This will easily mark the latest ever that a Lakeland men's basketball team has started its season. The previous latest start date came in 1939, when the Muskies of then-Mission House College faced the Alumni on Dec. 9 and defeated them 60-19, and then played their first intercollegiate competition of the campaign four days later, defeating Milton 47-32. Lakeland's earliest-ever season opener came in 1977, when the Muskies posted an 85-59 win at MSOE.
