MBB | Voyageurs Cannot Escape Early Hole, Fall to Lakers

The Laurentian Voyageurs men's basketball team rounded out their home and home weekend against the Nipissing Lakers with a 93-82 defeat in North Bay.

The game started out just as it did the night before, with neither side finding any real trouble picking up points. That being said, it was really the hometown Lakers that could not miss a shot it seemed. They picked up 33 points in the quarter, shooting close to 70% from the field, and were able to get out to a very early 13-point lead after the first quarter, up 33-20.

The second quarter was not much better for Laurentian. They just could not keep up with the fast-paced, free flowing offense that Nipissing was playing. As the Voyageurs shooting began going cold, Nipissing seemed to keep rolling, putting up another 27 points in the second and taking a commanding 25 point lead into half-time, 60-35.

Being down 25 and things looking bleak, Laurentian came back out the second half with a newfound energy. It seemed as though the roles reversed as, in the third quarter, everything was turning up aces for the Voyageurs. Led by 10 points and three assists in the quarter from Abdulmajid Hassan, the Voyageurs began mounting their improbable comeback. A 14-5 run midway through the third led to the Voyageurs outscoring the Lakers 28-16 in the quarter and put them back into striking distance, down 13 going into the fourth.

In the fourth they continued to fight, trimming the lead down to just eight with nine minutes to play but it ended being all for naught as the comeback fell short in the end. Nipissing, for the rest of the fourth, kept Laurentian at bay as the final score read Nipissing 93, Laurentian 82. It was a game that could have gone much differently for the Voyageurs had they been able to pick up a few more stops in the first half.

The game's top performers were Caillou Lacroix, who piggybacked his 37-point game the night before with 28 points and 14 rebounds on Saturday, and Abdulmajid Hassan, who ended with 21 points and seven assists on 53% shooting.

The Voyageurs hit the road next weekend to face the Ottawa Gee-Gees and Carleton Ravens in Ottawa on their last trip of the season.

Andrew Lemieux