THUNDER BAY – It was a C&C basketball factory at Thunderwolves central on Saturday night.
Chris Sagl and Carsen Unrau were instrumental down the stretch, helping the Lakehead Thunderwolves climb all the way back from an earlier 18-point deficit to knock off the visiting McMaster Marauders 76-73.
Sagl hit a game-tying three-pointer with 9.9 seconds left.
Then, as McMaster raced down the court in search of a go-ahead bucket, Unrau was up to the task, catching up to the Marauders’ Mike Demagus, knocking the ball free without fouling, bouncing it off his opponent to give Lakehead the ball back with just four seconds left in regulation.
Tied at 73, Sagl showed he’s got ice in his veins.
He got the ball, a dozen or so feet beyond the arc, and let one fly.
As Larry Bird once famously said to Michael Jordan, “Nothing but net.”
The improbable comeback was complete, Moosy Qasim’s last-ditch three-point attempt coming up well short of the rim, and suddenly, the Thunderwolves, who trailed for the first 47:59 of the game, had the win, their fourth straight to start the 2024-25 campaign.
“My coach believes in me, my teammates believe in me and more importantly, I really believe in myself to shoot from anywhere on the floor,” Sagl said.
It was one of those you had to see it to believe it moments at the C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse, the crowd erupting as it all went down.
Unrau was almost speechless when Sagl’s second trey landed.
“I was in shock. It was a huge shot at the end,” said the second-year guard, his stat line reading nine points, seven boards, three assists, a steal and no turnovers.
For Sagl, it was a measure of redemption after a game that saw him struggle with his shot. On the night he was just 5-of-19 from the field, and had hit just one of 12 three-point attempts until that final minute of play.
When the game is on the line, LU coach Ryan Thomson said Sagl’s his guy. Was there anybody else he wanted with the ball in his hands in those moments?
“Not really anybody,” Thomson said. “Especially tonight. We have so much confidence in Chris and believe in him so much, so it’s great to see a couple huge shots for him go. He puts in a lot of work. He wants to be great. He’s the leader of our group.”
It certainly didn’t look like a game the Thunderwolves were going to win, not in the early going.
McMaster jumped out to an 11-4 lead, and when Wrzeszcz hit one of two free throws midway through the second, the Marauders were up 43-25.
A Nathan Bilamu three-pointer cut the lead to 11, capping a 7-0 run, but by halftime McMaster (0-4) was leading by 15, 51-36 and all signs were pointing to a weekend split.
The lead held for much of the third, but an Adrian Nowak triple cut the McMaster advantage to 10. He’d add one more in the period, and the Marauders led 67-61 through 30 minutes.
Momentum may have been on their side, but the shots just weren’t falling for LU in the fourth. It took them four minutes before Bilamu hit, the McMaster lead now 70-63. Sagl made it 71-65, Unrau drew a foul on a three-point attempt and hit two of three from the line, then Nowak and Unrau hit back-to-back buckets, carving the Marauders lead to just one, ahead 71-70. Demagus hit a two to restore a three-point McMaster lead.
Demagus missed a shot, the ball dancing on the rim, giving LU the ball back, and set the stage for Sagl’s heroics.
LU travels to Windsor and Western next weekend.
