Muskie Men Advance To Second Round Behind Hot Shooting
Feb. 20, 2004
It was a night of three pointers in the first round of the Lake Michigan Conference tournament as the Lakeland College Men's Basketball Team advanced to the second round with a 79-70 win over Maranatha Baptist Bible College.

The Muskies' Cory Nickel and the Crusaders' Jacob Gomez matched each other from three point range at 7 of 10. Nickel bested Gomez with 34 points all together; Gomez scored 33.

Nick Zeck also had an outstanding game for the Muskies with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Ryan Hiir also tallied a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards.

Overall, the Muskies shot 55 percent from behind the arc, and the Crusaders shot 57 percent from three range.

Although the Muskies took the lead early on in the game, Maranatha kept it close until the latter portion of the second half when Lakeland's defense stepped up and shut the door on numerous occasions.

The win advances the Muskies (14-12, 9-4) to the second round, where they will face off against Edgewood College, who beat Marian College 71-55 Friday night, in Madison Saturday night at 7 p.m. The Muskies split the season series with the Eagles. The loss ends Maranatha's season with a 9-14 overall record.