It took longer than they would have liked, but it happened, the Nipissing Lakers men’s basketball team picked up their historic first OUA regular season win Friday night over the Algoma Thunderbirds.
Thanks to a fantastic start and some hot shooting, the Lakers put together a complete 40-minute effort on their way to a 71-56 victory to break their early season struggles.
Nipissing started things off with a bang, outscoring the Thunderbirds 20-8 to build up a solid lead in the first quarter.
Algoma pushed back, but Nipissing still took a 39-25 lead into halftime.
With a solid lead, the Lakers slowly extended things in the third quarter and led 57-41 after three, which was enough cushion to cruise to the win.
In the final quarter, Algoma attempted a comeback, but thanks to solid defence and a few key shots, Nipissing held on for the victory.
The Lakers offence clicked all night, led by a huge night – a historic night – by Marcus Lewis who scored 25 points and added 20 rebounds.
Marvin Ngonadi added 17 points and Wil Konybai picked up 11 for Nipissing.
All five starters had a strong game, playing over 20 minutes and all recorded at least a handful of points.
The Lakers finish the first half of the year on a high note and will be back on the court in 2016.
Lakers Women knock off T-Birds
The Lakers Women put together a very strong 40 minutes on their way to win number two on the season, as they defeated the Algoma Thunderbirds 64-59.
The Lakers outscored Algoma in three of the four quarters, with just the fourth quarter going the Thunderbirds way thanks to a late push from the school based out of Sault Ste. Marie.
Nipissing came away with the lead after a low scoring first quarter.
In the second, things picked up offensively and the Lakers added to their lead, outscoring Algoma 16-11 and took a 28-18 lead into halftime.
The teams combined for 49 points in the third quarter alone, with the Lakers once again extending their lead, this time by three, which put them up 54-41 heading into the fourth quarter.
Algoma closed the gap thanks to an 18-10 advantage in the final 10 minutes, but a few key baskets down the stretch by the Lakers put the game away and gave them win number two.
Nipissing was led by their balanced attack with seven players picking up at least five points, including two in double digits.
Claire Abbott led the Lakers with 18 points, Alexe Galipeau-Wilson added 11 and Michaela Branker picked up nine points to pace the Lakers.
Nipissing moved into third in the division thanks to the win in the final game of the first semester for Nipissing.
The Lakers will be back on the court in the new year.
