PLYMOUTH, Wis. – The Lakeland University men's basketball team shot 69% in the second half, overcoming a slow start to take a spot in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament with a 92-78 defeat of Concordia University Chicago 92-78 Saturday afternoon at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.
The Muskies scored at will in the second half to finish in a tie with Concordia Chicago for the eighth spot in the final NACC regular season standings. Lakeland won a tiebreaker based on strength of NACC wins and losses and will be the eighth seed in the conference tournament, facing No. 1 seed Milwaukee School of Engineering Tuesday night on the road at 7 p.m. in Milwaukee.
The Muskies scored just six points in the game's first 10 minutes, falling behind 22-6 early, but still easily came back to defeat the Cougars, avenging a 70-67 loss to CUC earlier this season. Lakeland made 20 of 29 shots in the second half, including 7 of 11 from three-point range, and overcame a 52-27 rebounding disadvantage by taking advantage of 20 Concordia turnovers turned into 25 points.
The Muskies outscored the Cougars 63-29 over the game's middle half, from under 10 minutes to play in the first half to the 9:23 mark of the second half, when
Parker Braun (
Jr.-Brillion, Wis.) scored to give Lakeland a 69-51 lead. Lakeland rallied back from its early deficit to trail just 35-34 at halftime and then scored 35 points in just over 10 minutes of the second half in pulling away.
Asanjai Hunter (
Sr.-Racine, Wis.) scored 29 points,
Peyton Mrotek (
Sr.-Luxemburg, Wis.) totaled 25 and
Jaxson Dillon (
Sr.-Menasha, Wis.) added 16 points on Senior Day, as all three plus teammates
Gage Cornell (
Sr.-Manitowoc, Wis.),
Tim Ward (
Sr.-Plainfield, Ill.) and
Delon Zollicoffer-White (
Sr.-Milwaukee, Wis.) were all recognized before the game.
The Muskies finished shooting 50% (30 of 60), including 11 of 26 from three-point range and 21 of 28 (75.0%) from the free throw line. Braun made it four Lakeland players scoring in double figures with 10 points and also added a team-high eight rebounds.
Ryker Johnson led Concordia with 16 points and eight rebounds and Darrian Williams added 15 points. The Cougars shot 43.1% (28 of 65) but made just three three-pointers.
Lakeland will take part in the NACC Tournament for the first time since 2022 and will face an MSOE team that won a share of the conference's regular season crown for the first time since 2019. The Raiders defeated the Muskies 100-75 in the teams' lone meeting earlier this season, pulling away down the stretch after Lakeland trailed by just ten with seven minutes left.
