PURDUE NORTHWEST 86, LAKE SUPERIOR STATE 71
The Purdue University Northwest Men's Basketball team hosted the Lake Superior State Lakers on Senior Day, honoring their eight graduating seniors -- Chandler Spring, Xavier Hallinan, Franklin Nunn, Durante Lee, Michael Vukas, Lukas Vilkovsky, Tim Gilmore and Aaron Twist -- before tipoff. Hot shooting and smart decisions on both ends helped lead the Pride to the 86-71 win over the Lakers, who came to Hammond in the top seven places in the GLIAC standings as the season winds down.

HEAR FROM COACH BOOMER ROBERTS
"What a great day for our PNW Basketball family," said Roberts. "Ben Simmons was inducted into the Hall of Fame, we honored eight seniors, and we beat a good team in front of a great crowd on Senior Day. Lake Superior State plays as well together as anyone in our league, but our guys responded to the challenge. Seeing Twist on the floor was special for all of us. Lukas, Vukas, and Frank made big plays early, and then Hallinan, Durante, Tim and Chandler all played well. Jyrus, Greg and Anthony took turns making plays, and our team defense was strong. I'm proud of this group, especially the seniors who deserved a win on Senior Day."

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Pride started the afternoon with all seniors on the court. Early scores from Vukas, Lee and Nunn kept the contest close in the first ten minutes before a pair of three-pointers from Spring gave PNW the 23-19 lead. Spring's hot hand continued and was supported by layups from Jyrus Freels and a pair of deep shots from Gregory Boyle that extended the lead to 37-29 with just under six minutes left in the half. PNW foul trouble in the last two minutes of the first helped the Lakers claw their way back, taking away the Pride's lead and tying the game at 39-39.

Xavier Allison opened up the second half with a quick layup, retaking the lead for PNW. The lead would remain tight and change sides several times in the following minutes until foul trouble for the Lakers and efficient offense from PNW pushed the Pride's lead to 74-63 with just under eight minutes remaining. A couple trips to the free-throw line for Allison and a driving layup from Hallinan further extended the Pride's lead late to 80-66. LSSU (12-15, 9-10 GLIAC) maintained their defensive pressure until the final whistle, but the Pride (9-18, 4-15 GLIAC) held on for the Senior Day victory 86-71.

 
WHO LED THE WAY FOR THE PRIDE
Chandler Spring and Jyrus Freels led the way, both scoring 17 points. Spring shot 5-11 from the field and 4-9 from downtown while Freels shot 6-8 in the paint.

TEAM STATS
PNW shot 51% from the field, 39% from beyond the arc and 72% from the free throw line, holding the Lakers to 39%, 31% and 67%, respectively. The Pride scored 34 points in the paint, 78 off the bench and 10 off turnovers.

WHAT'S NEXT
The Pride finishes their 2019-2020 season at home on Thursday, February 27 when they host the Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. (CT). The night will also feature the Hometown Heroes Celebration, honoring military, veterans, law-enforcement, firefighters and EMT personnel.