MSOE Raiders (4-1 overall)
at Lakeland University Muskies (3-1 overall)
Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021 4 p.m.
Woltzen Gymnasium
Lakeland/MSOE Game Notes PDF
The Lakeland University men's basketball team returns from a long layoff and opens NACC play when it hosts Milwaukee School of Engineering Tuesday late afternoon at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.
Broadcast Information:
Live video & live statistics:
http://www.lakelandmuskies.com/muskieslive. Andy Damp is again calling the play-by-play for all Lakeland home basketball games this year.
Series history: 103rd meeting, Lakeland leads 67-35
The Muskies earlier this year broke a recent stranglehold of the series by the Raiders, winning back-to-back games in the 2020-21 season shortened and modified due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lakeland defeated Milwaukee School of Engineering 92-81 in the first game Feb. 5 and then pulled out an 85-80 overtime win in the second game the next night, surviving a buzzer-beater tying three-pointer by MSOE's Michael Pitrof at the end of regulation. Prior to that, the Raiders had won the last 11 meetings, between the teams, including all three in 2019-20. MSOE swept the regular season home-and-home and the teams then met in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament first round, where Lakeland almost came back from a 23-point second half deficit but fell 79-76 at home after a tying three-point attempt missed just before the final buzzer. The series dates back to 1935, and Lakeland has had winning streaks of 26 and 13 games against MSOE.
Lakeland last time out: Won at North Central (Minn.) 104-94 Nov. 12
The Muskies have been idle for 11 days after their scheduled contest last Tuesday at UW-Stout was postponed due to COVID-19 procedures. Lakeland won its last time out on the road in Minneapolis, picking up its third straight win as
Cam Jaeger and
Travis Kohlmann both scored 21 points each. The Muskies took the lead early in the first half and led the rest of the way, building an 11-point halftime lead and pulling back away after the Rams closed within five points in the second half. Five players scored in double figures including
Greg Barber, who finished with a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
MSOE last time out: Won at Martin Luther (Minn.) 84-68 Saturday
The Raiders won their second game on the road in two days, with the win in New Ulm, MInn., coming one day after a 68-64 win at Luther (Iowa) on Friday. MSOE completed a 2-0 weekend behind a huge day for senior guard Michael Pitrof, who scored 34 points and added seven rebounds while shooting 14 of 17 from the field including 5 of 6 from three-point range. The Raiders took control of a close game late in the first half, outscoring the Knights 16-4 to take a 44-30 halftime lead. Ty Miklowski also added a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
About the Raiders: Like Lakeland, MSOE also comes in on a three-game winning streak, and the Raiders hold a 4-1 overall record while having faced two common opponents of the Muskies, having defeated both Martin Luther and North Central (Minn.). MSOE finished 6-7 overall in the spring 2020-21 season and posted a 4-6 record in the NACC, but is an experienced team with six players back who started at least one game in the spring. MSOE is again led by coach Brian Miller, who is in his 18th year in Milwaukee and has won 282 career games at the school. Miller was previously Lakeland's head coach from 1994-99, winning 58 games in five seasons before going to Concordia Chicago for five years and then to MSOE.
Rebounding uptick: The Muskies have shown considerable improvement in the area of rebounding early in the season. Lakeland enters the game with a +4.5 rebounding margin and has outrebounded three of its first four opponents, including the last three. The Muskies have struggled on the glass in recent seasons, outrebounded in the 2020-21 spring season by 7.8 boards per game, and in their last full season in 2019-20 finishing -6.0 in rebounding margin. Seven players are grabbing at least 4.0 rebounds per game early in the season led by senior
Greg Barber, who is averaging 8.0 rebounds through four games and in separate games already has pulled down 13 and 10 rebounds.
