Men’s Hoops Prevail, 88-81 Over Bisons

The men’s basketball team began their non-conference schedule against the U Manitoba Bisons on Friday night, coming out with an 88-81 victory.

Boxscore

The Bisons came out of the gate on fire, hitting 6 of 9 three-pointer attempts in the first quarter to lead 26-21 after 10 minutes. Justus Alleyn was a perfect 3-of-3, with 11 points and 2 boards in the opening frame.He would finish with 14 points and 4 rebounds. Henry Tan was the early counter-punch for Lakehead, scoring 10 points in the first quarter.

 Lakehead’s defense tightened up in the second quarter, as they exchanged runs with the Bisons but eventually regained the lead 43-41 at half, having only led once, 1-0 to begin the game.

Manitoba refused to go away in the third quarter, and Lakehead’s young group still seemed to be finding their legs as a team. Sophomore Tanner Parrington came off the bench to score 5 points with 3 rebounds in 16 minutes of play. Rookie Quincy Johnson showed a lot of bounce, grabbing 6 rebounds and dishing out an assist in 10 minutes of play.

As the clock ticked down in the fourth quarter, it was the Thunderwolf veterans who stepped up, with all five starters finishing in double digits.

Transfer guard Nick Burke scored 15 points, while Henry Tan and Bacarius Dinkins (Jonesville, Fla.) were the leading Lakehead scorers with 19 points apiece. Alex Robichaud played in his typical fashion, sacrificing his body at both ends of the court, finishing with 12 points and a team-high 4 assists. Mor Menashe registered a 18 point, 10-rebound double-double, shooting an efficient 6-of-9 from the field and 5-for-6 at the stripe.

An Alex Robichaud 3-pointer with 1:44 to go gave LU a 78-71 lead, which was followed by a Manitoba turnover and a Henry Tan lay-up plus the foul with 1:22 left for a 9-point advantage.

For Manitoba, all five of their starters scored in double digits as well, with Amarjit Basi leading with 19 points. Keith Omoerah had 13 points and 11 rebounds.

It was nice to see contributions from a lot of guys. We played hard and played for 40 minutes which was great to see – Coach Furtado

The two teams will rematch tomorrow at 8pm. No webcast is scheduled for this game.