PLYMOUTH, Wis. – Benedictine University's Connor Glasgow made two free throws with one-tenth of a second left in the game and the Lakeland University men's basketball team took a tough 77-76 loss Saturday afternoon at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.
Glasgow was fouled going up for a tip-in attempt after missing a shot near the rim and a split second just before the buzzer went off. A 62.5% free throw shooter on the season, he made the first free throw, then after a timeout swished the second to give the Eagles the win. Lakeland saw its brief two-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 4-11 overall and 2-5 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference.
The Muskies saw an outstanding comeback spoiled after coming back from 17 points down early in the second half to take the lead. Lakeland trailed 54-37 early in the second half and still trailed 60-45 with less than 14 minutes remaining, but got back into the game and took the lead back with a 16-0 run capped by a three-pointer by
Peyton Mrotek (
Sr.-Luxemburg, Wis.) with 9:33 left for a 61-60 lead.
The Muskies would go ahead by as many as four points at 70-66 with 6:28 remaining, and would later answer a 7-0 Benedictine run with five straight points of their own, the last coming on a three-point play by
Asanjai Hunter (
Sr.-Racine, Wis.) making it 75-73 with 1:27 to play.
The Eagles (3-11 overall, 2-5 NACC) answered with a layup by Ryan Sammons with 1:14 left, and after empty possessions for both teams, Lakeland regained the ball with 33 seconds left. With time winding down, Hunter was fouled with 10 seconds left and made the first of two free throws for a 76-75 lead. Hunter missed the second shot, and after a timeout in the frontcourt Benedictine had the final possession with six seconds left, with Glasgow getting the first shot but fouled on the second and making the decisive free shots.
Lakeland battled back in the second half after Benedictine came out shooting hot and owning the boards in taking a 48-35 lead at the break. The Eagles shot 51.4% from the field in the first 20 minutes and also posted a 26-11 rebounding advantage in the half that they turned into a 20-3 lead in second chance points at the break.
Hunter finished with 18 points, five rebounds and eight assists, Mrotek scored 17 points and
Jaxson Dillon (
Sr.-Menasha, Wis.) added 15 points. The Muskies shot 44.8% for the game, making 26 of 58 field goals, including 8 of 30 from three-point range (26.7%).
Sammons led Benedictine with 21 points and Glasgow added 17 plus 13 rebounds. The Eagles cooled in the final 15 minutes and finished shooting 44.4% (28 of 63) but held a 45-30 rebounding lead for the game.
Lakeland is back on the road Wednesday when it takes on Marian University at 7 p.m. in Fond du Lac.
