by Derick Denny (Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin) scored 18 points to lead four players in double figures and the Lakeland College men’s basketball team forced 27 turnovers in an 88-64 win over Dominican (Ill.) University Saturday afternoon in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play.
The Muskies shot better than 50% for the game and received significant contributions from reserves, who combined better than half of the team’s points. Lakeland rebounded nicely from a loss to Concordia University Wisconsin Thursday night and improved to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the NACC.
The Muskies shot 52.3% for the game, making 34 of 65 shots, but the real difference in the game was in how the two teams took care of the ball. Dominican also shot 50.0% (24-for-48), but Lakeland committed just nine turnovers. With the Stars (0-7 overall, 0-3 NACC) committing three times as many turnovers as them, the Muskies finished with a whopping 38-8 advantage in points off turnovers for the game.
Lakeland also received a number of strong individual performances off the bench. Travis Kell (So.-Madison, Wis.) scored 14 points and hit 7 of 10 shots, while also adding three steals. Jacob Servais (So.-Coon Valley, Wis.) had his most productive game as a collegian with 12 points and eight rebounds while also hitting 5 of 6 from the field, and Tanner Hackl (Jr.-West De Pere, Wis.) also added 11 points and made 5 of 6 shots.
The game was close for the first half, with the Muskies holding a narrow lead much of the way and taking a 40-31 lead into halftime on the strength of 10 points each from Denny and Kell. Denny opened the second half with a three-pointer as well, his third of four in the game, and the lead would never fall below double digits the rest of the way, with Lakeland slowly pulling away over the final 20 minutes.
The Muskies survived a cold day from the three-point arc, where they shot 5 of 24. Lakeland finished with 18 steals, though, including five from Denny and three each by Kell and Zach Van Engen (Jr.-Sheboygan Falls, Wis.). Van Engen also led the team with five assists in addition to eight points.
The Muskies also did an excellent job on Dominican leading scorer Josh Mayberry, who entered the game ranking fourth in the conference averaging better than 17 points per game but scored just nine points. Mayberry shot 3-for-11 from the field, including 1 of 7 from the three-point line, and also committed eight turnovers.
Lakeland will next be in action in a week when it travels to face Benedictine (Ill.) University at 4:15 p.m. in Lisle, Ill.
