THUNDER BAY – Coming out of the Christmas break, it’s do-or-die time for the Lakehead Thunderwolves men’s basketball team.
With just a dozen games left on their 2023-24 calendar, the T-Wolves started the second half of the season in a 2-8 hole, with little room for error over the course of the next two months if the team wants a taste of playoff action.
A forgettable four-quarter aside, one that saw the visiting Laurentian Voyageurs trim a 19-point Lakehead lead to as low as seven, the Thunderwolves got the victory they so desperately needed, hanging on to claim a 94-85 triumph.
It wasn’t always pretty, said LU forward Tyler Sagl, but they got the job done, picking up their third win of the regular season.
“I thought it was huge for us, coming in off the break,” said Sagl, who finished with 13 points, including three from distance.
“We didn’t have the greatest start in the first semester. We needed to get our feet wet and get the win, and I thought we did a great job of doing what we had to do in terms of our game plan. I thought (coach Ryan) Thompson did a really good job in terms of that.”
Spanish forward Harold Santacruz, who topped all Lakehead scorers with 21 points, said a strong start helped them outlast the Voyageurs, a team who entered play with just one win in 10 outings.
“We started the game pretty good. We were playing together and moving the ball. That was the difference in the score,” Santacruz said.
“We have to maintain that. We had a bad fourth quarter, but we still got the win.”
Lakehead never trailed in the contest, jumping in front 19-11 on a Nathan Bilamu three-pointer three minutes into the game.
They took a nine-point lead into the second and built it to 19 midway through the period, Jared Kreiner hitting from behind the arc to make it 45-26.
Laurentian clawed back and trailed by 12 with 11 seconds to go, but Chris Sagl, who had 19 points and 13 assists, buried a three at the buzzer to restore the Lakehead lead to 15.
Four minutes into the fourth the lead was 18, but the Voyageurs didn’t show any quit and began chipping away at their deficit, thanks largely to Kamil Dia Hantchi, who started the comeback with a three-pointer 4:18 into the final frame.
Twenty-four seconds later he dropped another one – he finished with five on the night and a game-high 22 points – and the lead was 12, the Thunderwolves up 82-70.
Caillou Lacroix layup, with 1:46 to go sliced Lakehead’s lead to 89-82, but it was as close as Laurentian would get.
“It was important for a confidence standpoint, but I think we’re still disappointed though. You give up 28 points in the fourth quarter and I think that was the story of the first half – three good quarters of basketball and a fourth quarter of just not executing, not being disciplined, not doing the things it took to get a lead and be in a good position going into the fourth quarter,” Thompson said.
The veteran coach added his troops need to get collectively better organized after possessing the ball.
“Cause if something happens (now), it snowballs for a possession or two. That’s what we have to keep working on and not allow to happen.”
The Thunderwolves host the Nipissing Lakers (3-7) on Saturday night at the Thunderdome. Tip-off is 8 p.m.
