The series between Lakeland and Rockford dates back to 1961, and the two schools have split their last 14 contests. This is also their second meeting of the season, and the Muskies picked up the win on the road on Dec. 18 with an 80-73 victory in Rockford, Ill., as Isaiah Hammond scored 19 points to lead five scoring in double figures. The teams last met at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium a shade over a year ago, and the Regents dominated in an 86-65 win Jan. 24, 2024, in a game Rockford led by as many as 31 points in the second half. The Muskies on the first meeting ever 64-41 on Dec. 6, 1961, and won the first six meetings before Rockford's first win in Dec. 1999.

Lakeland last time out: Won at Edgewood 89-80 Saturday
The Muskies came back from a seven-point deficit with less than five minutes left and finished the game on a 19-3 run to win in Madison and finish with a season split with the Eagles. Lakeland trailed 77-70 with just over 4 1/2 minutes to play but Edgewood would not score another field goal the rest of the way. The Muskies took the lead on a three-pointer by Jaxson Dillon with 1:48 left, and Cliff McCray made six free throws in the final minute to close the game out. McCray tied a career high with 27 points, Asanjai Hunter scored 24 points, Peyton Mrotek scored 16 and Dillon added 13 points, 11 in the second half. The Eagles shot 51.7% but the Muskies committed just seven turnovers and made 21 of 27 free throws while Edgewood missed 4 of 7 from the line down the stretch.

Rockford last time out: Lost at Aurora 102-90 Wednesday
The Regents come in off a high-scoring loss to the Spartans earlier this week in a game that featured plenty of scoring and fre throws. Rockford shot 50.7% but Aurora was even better, hitting 57.1% of its shots and featuring six players scoring in double figures. The Spartans also shot 39 free throws and made 32, and with a 36-30 rebounding advantage also became just the second team this season to outrebound the Regents. Anthony Espensen scored 20 points and Micah Swanson added 19 points, but Rockford continued a recent slide that has included five losses in its last seven games. The Regents also have slid down the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference standings a bit and enter a game behind Lakeland in the league race. Rockford finished 18-9 overall last year and as the No. 4 seed in the NACC Tournament advanced to the semifinals before falling to eventual tourney champion Wisconsin Lutheran.