THUNDER BAY – The Lakehead Thunderwolves, coming off a heartbreaking double-overtime loss to the No. 5 Laurier Golden Hawks last weekend, were playing with a bit of a chip on their shoulders in their first game back.
The Thunderwolves on Friday night raced out to a 10-point halftime lead and went on to down the visiting Brock Badgers 87-66 in front of a nearly full house at the Thunderdome, clawing their way past their opponent and one rung up the OUA men’s basketball ladder.
Though not must-win, thanks to six wins in their last seven outings, every game matters at this point of the season said guard Nathan Bilamu, whose 15-point, eight-assist effort went a long way to ensuring Lakehead’s sensational second-half play continued.
“I feel like as a team we’re really clicking on offence and defence,” said Bilamu, who has stepped into more of a leadership role with the team with the unexpected departure of all-star guard Laoui Msambya.
“Our chemistry, we’re moving the ball, everyone is scoring in double digits game to game. We’re contributing on defence with the steals and blocks and the energy is great right now.
“We have a great team spirit and I feel that’s really showing on the court.”
The T-Wolves trailed just once in the contest, after Brock’s Jordan Tschuente opened the scoring with a shot from distance.
Jared Kreiner responding, tying the game 3-3 with a three of his own, and Tyler Sagl, who later left the game with what appeared to be a serious lower body injury, added another trey and the Wolves were off to the races.
Lakehead jumped in front 21-9, led 24-13 after one and carried a 46-36 lead into the half, Sagl restoring the double-digit advantage with a deep three late in the second quarter.
A 6-0 run by the Badgers to open the third cut the LU lead to 46-42,but Chris Sagl hit another three-pointer and within minutes the Thunderwolves were in front 57-44.
Brock never closed to within fewer than seven points from then on, as Lakehead took control of the fourth, outscoring their opponent 21-11, including a put-back dunk by rookie Carson Unrau that brought the crowd to its feet.
“I think you saw the ball movement, especially in the second half, these guys sharing and working together offensively,” said Thunderwolves coach Ryan Thomson.
“Defensively, we limited a pretty physical team to only 10 o-boards and that’s the kind of consistent effort you need on that end of the court.
Bilamu was the most generous of his teammates, something Thomson has come to expect as the team turned a 2-8 start into a 8-9 present.
“Brock’s a really good defensive team. They’re going to load up the ball with their scorers when they’re trying to ball-handle and make decisions. I thought Nate did a great job making decisions, and I was thrilled to see Jared shoot the ball well,” Thomson said.
Kreiner, in his final season at LU, hit five-of-10 from beyond the arc, good for 15 points, equalling Bilamu’s output. Chris Sagle, with 13, Harold Santacruz with 11, and Flynn Gilmour, with 10, also scored for Lakehead.
Tchuente led all scorers with 22 points and added 11 rebounds for the double-double.
Andrew McKenna had 14 off the bench for the Badgers (7-9).
Lakehead and Brock meet again on Saturday night. Game time is 8 p.m.
