Lakeland College

Second-half run lifts Muskies past Finlandia

Athletics - posted on 1/3/2011

HANCOCK, Mich. - Hot shooting from junior guard Josh Regal lead the Lakeland College men's basketball team to an 80-55 nonconference victory over Finlandia University Monday night in Hancock, Mich.

Coming off a disappointing 84-74 loss, and a fourth place finish to the University of Wisconsin- Stout in the Nicolet National Bank Holiday Tournament at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis., the Muskies bounced back and were able to find its rhythm.

A 35-27 halftime deficit was too much for the Lions to overcome as Lakeland went on an 18-0 run in the first five minutes of the second-half for the convincing win.

The Muskies (4-6, 1-3 NAC) shoot a steady 46.7 percent from the field the entire game and held the Lions to just 35.5 percent, including 14.3 percent from behind the 3-point arc.

Head coach Aaron Aanonsen thought the team played one of its best games of the season thus far.

"It was a great team win," said Aanonsen. "Our guys played with a lot of energy and we played a complete game offensively and defensively. It was nice to see the guys make their open shots."

Lakeland's defense forced 22 Finlandia turnovers that the Muskies were able to capitalize on.

"We did a really nice job sticking to our game plan and made Finlandia get out of their rhythm," Aanonsen said.

Regal ended the night with 18 points, including hitting five 3-pointers. The Suring, Wis., native added four assists to go along with three rebounds.

Junior guard Bobby Komorowski (Germantown, Wis.) posted 10 points, five steals and three assists, while freshman guard Tal Diekvoss (Beaver Dam, Wis.) added nine points to go along with four rebounds.

Lakeland returns to action on Tuesday, Jan. 4 against Northland in Ashland, Wis. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m.