THUNDER BAY – SPORTS – Lakehead’s men’s basketball team defeated the Waterloo Warriors by a score of 125-77. The win marks the Thunderwolves’ 5th in a row, improving their record to 8-12, and 6-4 in their last ten games. Lakehead’s 125 points is the most scored by any team in OUA play this season.
“This was a good team win,” Thunderwolves head coach Ryan Thomson said. “We did a significantly better job today following and executing our game plan defensively.”
Lakehead came out hot, taking an early lead of 27-20 after the first quarter. It was the only period of the game in which the Thunderwolves scored less than 30. Lakehead was up 61-35 at the half and pushed their lead out to 95-58 after three, a margin of 37 points. The Thunderwolves poured in an additional 30 while holding Waterloo to 19 in the fourth quarter, winning by a total of 48 points.
“We did a good job of attacking their pressure and being unselfish and getting great shots,” Thomson said.
The Thunderwolves finished with 25 assists as a team, had five different players finish in double digits, and saw all 11 players score. Lakehead shot 66.2% from the floor, including 63.3% from deep.
Isaiah Traylor led the Thunderwolves with 29 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. Quincy Johnson dropped 19 points off the bench, Kevin Ndahiro added 13 points of his own, and Davarius Wright scored 10 points while grabbing a team-leading 9 rebounds. Guards Nick Burke and Alston Harris combined for 13 assists.
The Thunderwolves out-gunned the Warriors throughout the game while keeping the Waterloo offense in check.
“I’m not sure there’s a more impactful defensive player in the country than Lock,” Thomson said. “The way he changes shots and rebounds is impressive.” Lock Lam finished with 22 points on 8-9 shooting, including 4-4 from the outside while also grabbing 7 rebounds and blocking 2 shots.
Lakehead now sits fifth in the OUA West at 8-12, directly behind the McMaster Marauders at 9-11. The two teams split their season series 1-1, with Lakehead claiming the tie-breaking scoring margin by 7 points. The Thunderwolves currently have a better overall +/- scoring margin than McMaster. In third in the OUA West ahead of Lakehead and McMaster sit the Western Mustangs, who the Thunderwolves swept last weekend.
Lakehead returns to Waterloo next weekend to face the OUA West-leading Laurier Golden Hawks.
“On Monday we’ll be back at it in practice and focused on Laurier who plays fast, tough and can make shots,” Thomson says. “Sow is a very good player and we need to be locked in all week to be ready to go Friday and Saturday.”
