The rivalry between schools separated by about 35 minutes on the now mostly four-lane Highway 23 had been owned by the Sabres of late until earlier this year, when Lakeland was an 84-72 winner at home back on Jan. 15 behind 24 points from Asanjai Hunter. Marian had won seven straight in the series before that, including most recently a 96-90 victory Feb. 3, 2024 in Fond du Lac in a game where the Muskies shot 55% but the Sabres were even better at 59.3% as well as 19-for-21 from the free throw line (90.5%). Before the Sabres' recent streak in the series, Lakeland had won seven straight over Marian. The series dates back to Dec. 18, 1973, when Lakeland won the first meeting ever between the schools 89-48.

Lakeland last time out: Lost at Wisconsin Lutheran 84-74 last Saturday
The Muskies stayed in contact with the Warriors the whole way and were within four points with 4 1/2 minutes left before Lutheran made a run late to pull away. Lakeland held WLC to 39.2% shooting but surrendered 27 offensive rebounds in losing its third straight game. Peyton Mrotek scored a career-high 21 points, Adison Mittelstadt also posted a career best with 16 points and Delon Zollicoffer-White added 10 points off the bench. Parker Braun also added seven points and eight rebounds.

Asanjai Hunter also scored 10 points against Wisconsin Lutheran, held well below his average due to foul trouble. The senior has a milestone in sight as he enters Saturday with 936 career points, putting him 64 points from 1,000 points in his career. Hunter is aiming to become the 43rd member of the Lakeland men's basketball 1,000-point club.

Marian last time out: Defeated Wisconsin Lutheran 81-58 Wednesday
The Sabres also faced the Warriors in their most recent game, and Andrew Ayeni came near a triple-double as Marian rolled to a decisive win at home. Ayeni totaled 16 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists and Marvin Haslett also scored 23 points off the bench as the Sabres dominated, shooting 53.8% from the field and also outrebounding WLC 41-31. Marian also held the Warriors to 29.4% shooting and led by as many as 35 points midway through the second half.

Marian has won its last two games and three of four under seventh-year head coach Drake Diener. The Sabres finished 16-10 overall last year and 9-9 in the NACC, slumping later in the season after getting off to a 12-1 start. Marian bowed to MSOE in the first round of the NACC Tournament and returned two starters from last year's team-Ayeni (17.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg) and Alex Vassilakis, who is averaging 9.0 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.