THUNDER BAY – Good basketball teams need depth from time to time.
Great ones get it.
While no one is putting the Lakehead Thunderwolves in the latter category yet, the men’s basketball team is starting to forge its identity, eking out a come-from-behind 71-69 win over the visiting Guelph Gryphons on Saturday night, riding Nathan Bilamu’s 21-point, nine-rebound coming-out party at the C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse.
Yes, it was Laoui Msambya who came through in the clutch, barrelling his way to the bucket for the game-winning basket late in the fourth quarter.
And it was Michael Okafor, a character in every sense of the word, hanging from the rim after yet another two-handed slam to open the third.
But it was Bilamu and Spanish import Eric Gonzalez who were at the forefront of Lakehead’s latest win, their third straight.
The rookie Bilamu had never scored more than 10 points for the Thunderwolves, but stared down a three early in the fourth that restored a one-point Lakehead lead, having entered the final quarter trailing by four.
It was Gonzalez who converted an Okafor steal that gave the lead again a few minutes later, and then once again with a three-pointer, his second of the night.
And it was Bilamu who leapt into the air to put back an Alston Harris miss, tying the game at 66 with less than three minutes to play.
What it was, was a confidence builder, said the Hamilton native, quick to praise the rest of the blue and gold for his success.
“My teammates were finding me and it was a good night, a long time coming. But I’m feeling more comfortable out there and looking forward to more,” Bilamu said.
“I’d say we’re pushing the ball up more in transition, finding shooters, making extra passes and that got me extra shots.”
Bilamu made eight of 12 shots on the night, including four of six from beyond the arc.
It’s just what coach Ryan Thomson was looking for from his 6-foot-5 freshman wing.
“Getting that opportunity and making the most of it was good for him. Getting to see the first one and the second one go down gave him a lot of confidence to build off of,” said Thompson, a pretty mean three-point shooter in his own playing days.
The Gryphons were equally at a loss to solve Gonzalez, clearly concerting their defensive efforts on Okafor, who had 11 points, and Msambya, who had nine.
The sophomore forward scored 18 on the night and grabbed six rebounds, handing out four dimes and collecting four steals.
Lakehead led by one at the end of the first, taking the lead back on a lay-up by Bilamu. They doubled their lead in the second, but were out-scored 19-13 in the third, Guelph retaking the lead 3:25 in on a Keenan Dowell trey.
Down four, the T-Wolves opened the fourth with back-to-back threes from Harris and Bilamu, the first of nine lead changes in the final quarter.
The last came in the final minute, when Msambya drove through traffic and powered a shot into the hoop, moments after Khalid Ismail had put the Gryphons in front one last time, burying a three-pointer. Msambya had a chance to make it a three-point game at the line with seven seconds left, but only made one of two free throws and Guelph took a timeout.
Time simply wasn’t in their favour.
Malcolm Glanville, whose 15 points were second on Guelph to Carl Veltmann’s 17, had a contested look at a game-winning three, but his off-balance shot came up short and the Thunderwolves found themselves back at .500 with a 5-5 record, fifth in the OUA West.
Guelph dipped to 1-7 and remained in eighth.
Lakehead travels to Algoma (0-8) next weekend.
