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<DOCID>Laker_Men_Cruise_Past_Northland.doc.txt</DOCID>
<AUTHOR>Christopher Martlew</AUTHOR>
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The mens basketball team has begun to show improvement in the past week, completing their first UP sweep by defeating Michigan Tech and rival Northern Michigan. After a tough loss to Grand Valley, the boys were ready to go back into action against Northland Baptist Bible College from Wisconsin. 

	Though the game started off at a slow pace with not much action, it was evident that the Laker men were more physical, had more speed, and were better handling and shooting the ball. An electrifying ally oop from Darin Kanouse to Mike Rader had the crowd on their feet as the Lakers began to pull away, 16 to 8. NBBC tried to fight back with little momentum, but failed in their efforts to spread out the court and handle the ball with more care. 

	The Lakers defense stood ground often forcing bad shots, poor passes, and taking advantage of every mismatch under the boards. NBBC took a timeout, due to a Laker 8 to 0 run, with 1:36 left in the first half. Andrew Kearney hit the first three point of the game to close out the half, Lakers leading NBBC, 27 to 14.

	The Lakers came out in the second half dominating all aspects of the game just as they had in the first half. NBBCs David Peterson fouled out early in the second half, not making their comeback attempts any easier. Once again the crowd found themselves on their feet after an intense dunk from Scott Perkins making the score 33 to 14. Not only was the Lakers defense doing its duty, but the offense was hot too. The Lakers almost made the NBBS defense look like a joke. They had no problems working the ball around and penetrating the NBBC defense. As NBBC began to get tired, the Lakers Ryan Kuhl and Mike Rader proved themselves tough competitors on the boards, pulling in most of the rebounds. The Lakers held NBBC under 20 points until 4 minutes left in the game. The Pioneers of Northland made hopeless attempts to come back but fell short as the last second ticked off the clock in the Bud Cooper Gym, sealing the victory for the Lakers, 55 to 28. The Lakers out shot the Pioneers 24% from the field, and were 100% from the free throw line. Leading the Lakers was Mike Rader with 12 points and 3 rebounds, and Tim VandOudheusden with 9 points and 5 rebounds. Was this game a blowout because Northland was a division 3 team, or because their coach never showed much interest in coaching his team, or simply because the Lakers are obviously more skilled? Either way, the Laker men showed up with a mission on their minds and they were successful. The victorious Lakers are back at home on Thursday against Hillsdale. 

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