The Muskies and Raiders get together for the second time this season, having previously met Dec. 17. Lakeland pulled out a 97-89 overtime win in Milwaukee in a game of swings that saw Lakeland lead by 17 and later trail by seven in the second half. MSOE won both meetings last year, including an 80-71 win at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium Nov. 23, 2021 and a 75-71 victory at home  for its most recent win in the series Feb. 2, 2022. The Muskies won both meetings in the COVID-19 shortened 2020-21; prior to that, the Raiders had won the prior 11 meetings. The series dates back to 1935, and Lakeland has had winning streaks of 26 and 13 games against MSOE.

Lakeland last time out: Defeated Illinois Tech 81-79 Saturday
The Muskies rallied in improbable fashion, scoring nine points in a span of eight seconds to come back from a six-point deficit with less than 15 seconds left in the game. Kai Buliox conveted a go-ahead three-point play with six seconds left and IIT's final shot was off target, giving Lakeland a comeback win after trailing most of the game's final 25 minutes. Cam Jaeger scored 27 points, including 21 in the second half, and Aiden Polzin added 20 points. The Muskies snapped a three-game losing streak and evened the season series with the Scarlet Hawks after falling at IIT by 27 points three weeks earlier.

MSOE last time out: Lost at Edgewood 75-68 Saturday
The Muskies, their most recent opponent and now their current opponent MSOE all have been victims over the last week-plus of a resurgent Edgewood team, which once was 1-15 this year but now has won three straight. The Raiders led 36-33 early in the second half but the Eagles answered with ten straight points and MSOE was in catchup mode the rest of the game. Brothers Mason and Matus Dopirak both scored 14 points and Steve Dillard added 13 points and seven rebounds for the Raiders, who shot 40.3%.

It's been an unusual season for MSOE, which is being led by an interim head coach in Kevin Hurd, in his first year with the program and thrust into the head spot after longtime Raiders and former Lakeland coach Brian Miller retired from coaching three games into the season. The Engineers have a win over UW-Stevens Point out of conference, but the loss at Edgewood was their fifth in their last six games, with only an overtime win over Aurora last Tuesday in that stretch.

Recapping the first meeting: The Muskies seemed to be in charge after leading by as much as 17 in the first half, taking a 43-29 lead into halftime and again going ahead by 17 early in the second half. The Raiders responded with a 29-5 run over a span of less than eight minutes, taking a 62-55 lead with 10 minutes left in the game. The Muskies rallied back and were up three in the closing seconds, but MSOE's Matus Dopirak scored on a tip-in at the buzzer to push the game to overtime. Consecutive three-pointers early in overtime put Lakeland ahead and the Muskies closed it out making eight of 10 free throws in the final 52 seconds. Kai Buliox scored 22 to lead four players scoring in double figures for the Muskies, who shot 49.2% and made 13 of 30 from long range. Mason Dopirak led the Raiders with 20 points and 10 rebounds.