Wolves fall short in Winnipeg

The Lakehead Thunderwolves put up a late push, but couldn’t pull the trigger against a tough Saskatchewan Huskies team at the Western Classic Wednesday night. 

 The 82-79 loss relegated the men’s basketball team to the third-place game at the Winnipeg holiday tournament.

Rejean Chabot had a huge night for the No. 3-ranked Huskies, pounding home 33 points, including a perfect 12-for-12 at the free-throw line.

Jamie Searle led the way for Lakehead, scoring 19, but both he and Joseph Jones failed to connect on three-pointers in the final 30 seconds. Jones finished with 14 points for the Wolves, who will take on Manitoba on Thursday afternoon.

Lakehead coach Scott Morrison wasn’t happy with the way his team played defence in the first half, but it wasn’t all bad, he said.

“I was proud of the way we battled in the second half. We had two open looks to win in our last possession and ran out of luck. We came out a little soft and got some tough calls against us, but overall we were happy with our effort against one of the top teams in the CIS,” he said in a release.