Dec. 21, 2007

SAULT STE. MARIE - Lake Superior State beat previously-undefeated Central State 86-75 in a non-conference men's basketball game on Friday to post its third straight home victory.

The Lakers improved to 3-7, while regional opponent Central State dropped to 10-1.

LSSU relied on a balanced attack throughout the game and led from start to finish. Tim VanOudheusden had 15 points and three assists to lead six Lakers in double figures. He sat out the final 12 minutes of the game due to an injury.

Ryan Kuhl and Micah Hudson scored 14 points each and combined to total 12 rebounds.

Garrett Konuszewski and Mike Rader chipped in 13 points each, and Scott Perkins had 11. Perkins and Konuszewski also totaled five assists each.

LSSU built a 10-point lead, 23-13, during the first 10 minutes of the game. Central State came back to tie it, 34-34, with 3:49 left in the first half. The Lakers answered with eight straight points, including three-pointers by Perkins and VanOudheusden. They held on to lead 46-41 at halftime.

"Obviously, I'm very pleased intensity and effort throughout the whole game, especially when they started to make runs on us," LSSU coach Steve Hettinga said. "We showed some toughness when they made those runs, and we answered with runs of our own, especially that run at the end of the first half."

LSSU regained a double-figure lead six minutes into the second half and led by as many as 18 points, 74-56, with 8:16 to go.

"We had great balance, especially playing without Tim for the last 12 minutes, and a great team effort," Hettinga said. "I think the guys are starting to believe little bit. They're sharing ball. They don't care who is getting the glory. As a coach, it's encouraging to see them play that unselfishly."

LSSU shot 55.3 percent from the field and made 8-of-19 three-point attempts. Perkins was 3-for-4 from behind the arc. At the free-throw line, Kuhl was 6-for-8 and Konuszewski 7-for-8 as the Lakers were 26-of-33.

Central State, which was led by William Gaines and Boo Wade with 21 points each, shot 43.9 percent from the field and 13-of-20 at the free-throw line. The Marauders out-rebounded LSSU, 34-31.

Lake Superior State resumes conference play at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 3, at home against Saginaw Valley State.