Spot the McMaster Marauders a 10-point lead to start the game? No problem for the Lakehead Thunderwolves.
The men's basketball squad, which trailed by as much as 14 in the second quarter, roared back to ransack the visiting Marauders Saturday night, blowing their OUA West Division rival out of the water by an 91-71 count.
"It's kind of been the story of the whole season," said guard Ben Johnson, who started trading three-pointers with teammate Ryan Thomson in the second quarter, pulling the Wolves to within three at the half.
"We've been getting out to slow starts. Coach actually talked about it in the locker room, that we need to either change the warm-up, change what we're eating before the games or something because it's been happening a lot.
"Yeah, it's tough when you dig yourself a hole, but we came out and came together."
Venzal Russell, who led all scorers with 28, including nine in the fourth quarter, said he's not sure why the team is becoming notorious for its slow starts, something they can't afford next weekend on the road.
"Coach just got on us about that in the locker room," confirming what his Nova Scotian-born teammate said.
"He said we can't come out slow against Windsor next weekend. He said during the week we've got to switch up our routine."
Not that Russell, the 11th-highest scorer in the OUA at 15.6 points a night, minds a challenge on the court, he said, asked if the Wolves maybe might like playing from behind.
"Probably. That's what it is," he said, grinning.
Russell added five steals, seven assists and five rebounds, a complete performance if ever the Wolves have had one this season.
Lakehead took control of the game, if not in the second, then certainly in the third. Once again it was the long-distance tandem of Thomson and Johnson that turned the trick.
Thomson buried a three that brought the Wolves back on even terms, tying the game 45-45 in the second minute of play, then Johnson nailed one on LU's next possession, giving them a lead they'd never relinquish.
Thomson, who finished with 18, responded with yet another trey to stretch the lead to six, and punctuated the period with his fourth of the quarter as time ran down, giving the Wolves a 72-55 lead after 30 minutes.
The final quarter was mostly stat-padding time for the Wolves (12-2), who kept pace with Laurier, an 89-73 winner over Western on Saturday.
The two teams are tied atop the OUA West, but Lakehead holds the tiebreaker based on head-to-head points.
Yoosrie Salhia had a second straight double-double for Lakehead, grabbing 10 boards to go with his 12 points, while Johnson finished with 17 and Anthony McIntosh collected seven in 14 minutes off the bench.
It wasn't pretty, but coach Scott Morrison will take it.
"We took care of the ball on offense. We had eight turnovers in the first quarter and maybe four or five the rest of the game. When we don't turn it over it's hard for teams to run on us," Morrison said. "And by the same token, when we don't turn it over we're able to set up our pressure and I thought our ball pressure was a big factor in us turning it around tonight."
Victor Raso had 17 to lead the Marauders (9-5).
