THUNDER BAY – A third-quarter charge put the Lakehead Thunderwolves in the driver’s seat, but they ran out of gas in the fourth and didn’t quite make it to the finish line.
The Wolves, who outscored the visiting Western Mustangs 31-14 in the third, gave up 33 in the fourth and fell 95-91, dropping their third straight OUA men’s basketball contest.
Jerric Palma scored 22 points to lead Western’s offence and Tyson Dunn put up 20 and added 11 rebounds for the double-double.
Lakehead’s Howard Santacruz led all scorers with 23 points, though all five LU starters hit double digits, including Chris Sagl who wound up with 17.
The Wolves and Mustangs were tied 89-89 down the stretch, but Palma completed a rare four-point play that gave Western the lead for good.
The Mustangs improved to 6-2, while Lakehead dropped to 2-5 on the season.
Lakehead welcomes Windsor to the C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse on Saturday. Tip-off is 8 p.m.
