Lakeland University Muskies (7-5 overall, 4-4 NACC North)
at Marian University Sabres (2-7 overall, 1-7 NACC North)
Friday-Saturday, Feb. 26-27, 2021    5 p.m. both nights
Sadoff Gymnasium
Fond du Lac, Wis.

Lakeland/Marian MBB Game Notes   PDF

A spot in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament is at stake when the Lakeland University men's basketball team travels down Highway 23 to face rival Marian University for a two-game series beginning Friday night at 5 p.m. in Fond du Lac.

Fan attendance policy: Under current COVID-19 protocols, Marian University is not allowing any spectators at home games.

Broadcast Information: Marian will provide live video of both games at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/marianwi/. Live statistics links will be separate for both games and can be found on the Marian athletics website at http://sabreathletics.com.

Series history: 99th meeting, Lakeland leads 59-39
As the two teams near their 100th all-time meeting, Lakeland holds a 20-game advantage over rival Marian, a team the Muskies have played regularly since the 1970s. Lakeland swept the series last season, with an overtime road victory 89-87 on Dec. 7, 2019, before a convincing 95-59 win at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium on Jan. 25, 2020. The Muskies have won seven straight in the series, and it's been four years since the last Sabre victory when Marian beat Lakeland 84-74 in Fond du Lac on Jan. 4, 2017. The sereis dates back to Dec. 18, 1973, when Lakeland won the first meeting ever between the schools 89-48.

Lakeland last time out: Defeated Finlandia 108-72 Tuesday
The Muskies scored more than 100 points for the third game in seven days to sweep the season series with Finlandia. Lakeland went on a 12-0 run early in the first half to take its first lead of the game and never looked back as the Muskies led by double digits the rest of the way. Cam Jaeger led Lakeland with 22 points and Trenton Nickel added 20 points. Aiden Polzin, fresh off winning the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Player of the Week award Tuesday, also recorded a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Greg Barber had his best game as a Muskie to date scoring 16 points and grabbing a team-high 12 rebounds.

Marian last time out: Lost at MSOE 72-67 in overtime last Saturday
The Sabres are coming off a pair of losses to the Raiders last weekend, including falling in overtime on Saturday. A defensive battle throughout, Marian took a slim 26-23 lead into halftime and went on a 12-point run early in the second half to go ahead by 10 with 12:17 to play. MSOE responded with a 10-3 run of their own and eventually took a 55-54 lead with 2:52 remaining. Neither team scored in the final minute, forcing overtime to decide a winner. MSOE went on an 8-2 spurt that gave the Raiders a 68-64 lead with 47 seconds left and sank timely free throws to finish off the win. Marian's Tyler Gouin led all scorers with 28 points and added nine rebounds.

About the Sabres: Marian is 2-7 overall on the season and 1-7 in eight NACC North Division contests. Two of those conference games have gone to overtime, with Marian's lone conference win coming in an 85-84 win at Concordia Wisconsin Feb. 12. The Sabres are led by two main scorers in David Britton (18.8 points per game) and Gouin (16.7 ppg). Scott Paulus also ranks fifth in the NACC with 7.9 rebounds per contest, but in an offensive-oriented conference Marian ranks near the bottom of the league averaging 70 points per game and shooting 42.3% from the field.

Conference tourney jumble: It's an important weekend for Lakeland, which enters its final regular series in a four-way tie for second in the NACC North Division. The conference is employing divisional playoffs due to shortened schedules this season before a final conference championship game, and the Muskies could finish anywhere from the No. 2 seed in the tourney to out of it completely. The clearest path to the No. 2 seed and a divisional playoff home game would be for Lakeland to win both games over Marian and for the other three teams tied for second-Concordia Wisconsin, Edgewood and MSOE-to all split games. Wisconsin Lutheran has already clinched the top seed in the division.