KINGSTON – It was bound to happen at some point.
But it still stung when it finally did.
After winning eight straight games to open the season, the Lakehead Thunderwolves finally met their match on Saturday night, edged 84-79 by a Queen’s Gaels squad looking to vault itself in the national top 10.
The Gaels trailed by two at the half, down 48-46, but pulled away down the stretch to eke out the homecourt win.
Harold Santacruz put forth a heroic effort for Lakehead, scoring 29 points to go along with nine rebounds and three assists, but he didn’t have enough help in the offensive zone.
Nathan Bilamu had 11 points and Adrian Nowak finished with 10, but could only manage two of 11 attempts from beyond the arc.
Luka Syllas led Queen’s with 17 points and Ollie Engen added 16 to pace the home side to victory.
Lakehead, ranked 12th in the nation, returns home next weekend to take on Laurier and No. 6 Carleton, the only remaining undefeated team in the OUA.
