Men's Basketball Drops Conference Road Game to North Central

The Lakers opened up conference play traveling to take on the North Central Michigan Timberwolves. The Timberwolves played a tough non-conference schedule, pushing several quality opponents to the brink. Despite their 4-9 record in non-conference play, the Timberwolves would prove to be a tough out again. 

The Lakers led by as many as 8 points in the first half, and entered halftime with a narrow 36-31 lead. 

The Timberwolves got hot shooting in the second half, scoring 11 points in two minutes to take a 52-51 lead with 13 minutes to play.

After a back and forth ending to the game, it was the host Timberwolves who came out on top with a win over the Lakers 80-75.

The Lakers were led in scoring by Devin Watts who scored 20 points, his season-high. Watts shot 7-12 from the field, and 5-9 from three. He also added 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Nick Ellis scored 17 points on 8-11 shooting. Ellis also grabbed 7 rebounds. Delon McCloud added 14 points on 7-15 shooting. McCloud dished 4 assists and had a pair of steals. De'Antre Griffin added 11 points and had 5 rebounds and a pair of blocks.

The Lakers return to action on Wednesday 1/17 when they travel to Grand Rapids to take on the Grand Rapids Community College Raiders at 7:30 PM.