2008 Woodie Awards
Men's Basketball Reaches NCAA Tournament for the First Time Ever
Corey Kempf
Issue date: 3/4/04 Section: Sports
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Towards the middle of the season, an NCAA Tournament berth for the Lakeland men's basketball team would've been a distant speck on an ever-diminishing horizon. No matter what they did, they couldn't get to .500, and two players were suspended from the team.
But the men persevered, going 11-3 since the January 6 Viterbo game and finally prevailed last Saturday when they beat Wisconsin Lutheran, 60-54, to win the Lake Michigan Conference Tournament Championship and advance to the NCAA tournament.
In the game, Ryan Hiir and Nick Zeck led the Muskies with 14 points apiece. Zeck also ripped down 13 rebounds. Cory Nickel, who played all 40 minutes of the game, scored 13 points, and Nick Howard came off the bench to drop 12 points on the Warriors.
The Muskies were able to overcome 19 turnovers by dominating the boards, 37-24, to steal the win from the Warriors, who advanced to the final by upsetting number one seed Concordia in the semifinals.
"The game against Wisconsin Lutheran was great," Head Coach Gary Grzesk said. "The guys really stepped up, and the energy of the crowd carried us through.
"I don't know for sure, but that game has to rank as one of the greatest games in school history because it finally got Lakeland into the NCAA tournament."
Lakeland got to the finals by defeating number six seed Maranatha Baptist in the opening round of the conference tournament and number two seed Edgewood in the semifinals.
In the Maranatha game on February 19, Nickel and the Crusaders' Jacob Gomez put on a show, lighting the Wehr Center up from behind the arc.
The Muskies jumped out ahead early behind spectacular shooting, but Gomez led the Crusaders back into it, closing the gap to just three points at the half.
The second half proved to be much different as the Muskies' defense shut down the outside game of the Crusaders to propel themselves to the next round with a 79-70 victory.
In the end, Nickel dropped 34 points, besting Gomez's 33. Both players shot an unconscious 70 percent behind the arc.
Zeck and Hiir both tallied double-doubles. Zeck finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Hiir scored 10 points and grabbed 10 boards.
The win advanced the Muskies to play in the semifinals against Edgewood, a team they split the season series with.
With Nickel leading the way with 23 points, the Muskies upset the higher seeded Eagles by a score of 67-63 to advance them to the final. Hiir and Zeck again helped the way with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Once again, Lakeland was able to overcome a turnover disadvantage and a five-point halftime deficit by winning the battle under the boards by a 37-23 margin.
That win, coupled with Wisconsin Lutheran's upset of number one seed Concordia, set up the storybook ending championship game.
"I'm really happy for the seniors, Danny [Jansson] and Cory [Nickel], to finally by able to get into the tournament," Grzesk added.
But the men persevered, going 11-3 since the January 6 Viterbo game and finally prevailed last Saturday when they beat Wisconsin Lutheran, 60-54, to win the Lake Michigan Conference Tournament Championship and advance to the NCAA tournament.
In the game, Ryan Hiir and Nick Zeck led the Muskies with 14 points apiece. Zeck also ripped down 13 rebounds. Cory Nickel, who played all 40 minutes of the game, scored 13 points, and Nick Howard came off the bench to drop 12 points on the Warriors.
The Muskies were able to overcome 19 turnovers by dominating the boards, 37-24, to steal the win from the Warriors, who advanced to the final by upsetting number one seed Concordia in the semifinals.
"The game against Wisconsin Lutheran was great," Head Coach Gary Grzesk said. "The guys really stepped up, and the energy of the crowd carried us through.
"I don't know for sure, but that game has to rank as one of the greatest games in school history because it finally got Lakeland into the NCAA tournament."
Lakeland got to the finals by defeating number six seed Maranatha Baptist in the opening round of the conference tournament and number two seed Edgewood in the semifinals.
In the Maranatha game on February 19, Nickel and the Crusaders' Jacob Gomez put on a show, lighting the Wehr Center up from behind the arc.
The Muskies jumped out ahead early behind spectacular shooting, but Gomez led the Crusaders back into it, closing the gap to just three points at the half.
The second half proved to be much different as the Muskies' defense shut down the outside game of the Crusaders to propel themselves to the next round with a 79-70 victory.
In the end, Nickel dropped 34 points, besting Gomez's 33. Both players shot an unconscious 70 percent behind the arc.
Zeck and Hiir both tallied double-doubles. Zeck finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Hiir scored 10 points and grabbed 10 boards.
The win advanced the Muskies to play in the semifinals against Edgewood, a team they split the season series with.
With Nickel leading the way with 23 points, the Muskies upset the higher seeded Eagles by a score of 67-63 to advance them to the final. Hiir and Zeck again helped the way with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Once again, Lakeland was able to overcome a turnover disadvantage and a five-point halftime deficit by winning the battle under the boards by a 37-23 margin.
That win, coupled with Wisconsin Lutheran's upset of number one seed Concordia, set up the storybook ending championship game.
"I'm really happy for the seniors, Danny [Jansson] and Cory [Nickel], to finally by able to get into the tournament," Grzesk added.