ST. CATHARINES, Ont. – The Brock Badgers were the hottest team in the OUA.
With 10 straight wins, they were streaking toward top spot in the OUA Central, a Friday night clash with the Lakehead Thunderwolves a chance to slip into first place, at least for a night.
Things didn’t quite work out as planned.
The Thundewolves, who moved up a spot to No. 9 in the nation, trailed the No. 10 Badgers 47-45 at halftime, but roared past Brock in the third, outscoring the home team 21-11, adding 10 more to their lead in the second half with a 22-12 advantage, going on to a convincing 88-70 triumph that gives them a two-game cushion atop the conference.
It was the fifth win in a row for Lakehead, who dropped their opener after the Christmas break, but have been on a roll ever since.
Nathan Bilamu, Chris Sagl and Harold Santacruz, as they’ve done all season, were the catalysts for Lakehead,
Bilamu led the team with 20 points, grabbing nine board and dishing out five assists. Sagl had 18 points, hitting four three-pointers, and seven assists and Santacruz scored a dozen points and hauled in 10 rebounds for the double-double.
Starters Marcus Alonso (10) and Carsen Unrau also hit double figures for LU (15-2).
Davante Hackett paced the Badgers with 18 points, one of just two players to hit double digits for the home side.
The Badgers will look to even the season series at a game apiece in Saturday night’s rematch.
