<\/p>\n
Northwood’s Jamison Eklund gets to the rim during Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/Midland Daily News<\/p>\n
Northwood’s Parker Day attacks the basket during Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/Midland Daily News<\/p>\n
Northwood’s Jamonte Smith gets out in transition during Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/Midland Daily News<\/p>\n
Northwood coach Tom Church draws up a play during a timeout in Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/Midland Daily News<\/p>\n
Northwood’s Andrew Smith takes a 3-pointer during Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/Midland Daily News<\/p>\n
Northwood’s Will Young steps to the foul line during Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/fred.kelly@mdn.net<\/p>\n
Northwood’s Jamison Eklund lays it up during Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/Midland Daily News<\/p>\n
Northwood’s John Sweeney battles for a loose ball during Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/Midland Daily News<\/p>\n
Northwood’s Jamonte Smith goes up for a shot during Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/Midland Daily News<\/p>\n
Northwood’s Brayden Szamrej handles the ball during Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/fred.kelly@mdn.net<\/p>\n
Northwood’s John Simpson goes up for a shot during Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/Midland Daily News<\/p>\n
Northwood’s John Sweeney grabs one of his game-high 14 rebounds during Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/Midland Daily News<\/p>\n
Northwood’s Will Young puts up a shot during Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/fred.kelly@mdn.net<\/p>\n
Northwood’s Parker Day take a 3-pointer during\u00a0Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/Midland Daily News<\/p>\n
Northwood’s John Simpson prepares to shoot a free throw\u00a0during Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/Midland Daily News<\/p>\n
Northwood’s Jamison Eklund lays it up during Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/Midland Daily News<\/p>\n
Northwood’s Brayden Szamrej takes a 3-pointer during Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/fred.kelly@mdn.net<\/p>\n
Northwood’s John Sweeney raises his fist in victory following\u00a0Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/Midland Daily News<\/p>\n
Northwood’s Will Young goes on the attack during Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/fred.kelly@mdn.net<\/p>\n
Northwood’s John Sweeney lays it up and in during Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/Midland Daily News<\/p>\n
Northwood’s Will Young gets to the rim\u00a0during Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/fred.kelly@mdn.net<\/p>\n
Northwood’s Brayden Szamrej pulls up for a jumper\u00a0during Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/fred.kelly@mdn.net<\/p>\n
Northwood’s John Sweeney drops back on defense during Saturday’s game against Lake Erie, Jan. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n
Fred Kelly\/Midland Daily News<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s men\u2019s basketball matchup between Northwood and Lake Erie featured two of the more high-scoring and exciting teams in the GMAC. And that\u2019s exactly how the game played out \u2013 high-scoring and exciting.<\/p>\n
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In a highly entertaining back-and-forth battle that included incredible shot-making and lead changes galore, the Timberwolves edged the visiting Storm 100-96 in overtime, much to the delight of a large partisan crowd at Riepma Arena.<\/p>\n
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NU improves to 11-6 overall and 6-4 in the GMAC, while Lake Erie slips to 11-6, 5-4.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a really, really good college basketball game,\u201d said NU coach Tom Church. \u201cI think if you had to circle a game on the GMAC schedule today, this is the game you circle.\u201d<\/p>\n
To squeak out the victory, the Timberwolves had to withstand the Storm\u2019s prolific 3-point shooting, as Lake Erie finished at 44 percent (19 of 43) from beyond the arc, including Gavin Welch\u2019s 8 of 9 from long range.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey had a huge win on Thursday at Findlay, and they had won four of their last five conference games,\u201d Church said of Lake Erie. \u201cBut we knew coming in that if we handled their pressure and rebounded the ball, we could come away with a win.<\/p>\n
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\u201cFor them to hit 19 3\u2019s and for us to find a way to still the win the game, I\u2019m extremely happy with our guys and their resilience,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The Storm built an early 15-7 lead before Northwood answered with an 8-2 run on a 3-pointer by Andrew Smith, a driving layup by Jamonte Smith, and a 3-pointer by Jamison Eklund to cut it to 17-15.<\/p>\n
Lake Erie later went on a 9-2 run to open up the biggest lead of the game, 35-27, on back-to-back 3-pointers, but the Timberwolves answered with a big run of their own.<\/p>\n
NU ran off 14 consecutive points on a driving layup by Will Young, a 3-point play by Eklund, a layup and a 3-pointer by John Simpson, a steal and layup by Jamonte Smith, and a backdoor layup by Jamonte Smith to take a 41-35 lead.<\/p>\n
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The Timberwolves settled for a 41-37 edge at halftime.<\/p>\n
The second half was a wild seesaw affair, as Lake Erie shot 53 percent from 3-point range and drained 10 triples, while the Timberwolves shot 50 percent from the floor and went 15 of 19 from the foul line.<\/p>\n
As a result, the score was tied eight times, the lead changed hands 13 times, and neither team led by more than four points at any juncture.<\/p>\n
Fittingly, the score was knotted at 88-88 when Young hit a pair of free throws with 11 seconds left in regulation to give NU a 90-88 lead. Lake Erie\u2019s Jake Leibacher answered with two free throws of his own with six seconds remaining to tie it, and an off-balance jumper by NU\u2019s Brayden Szamrej was off the mark at the buzzer, sending the game to OT.<\/p>\n
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Church liked what he saw from his players as they prepared for overtime.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen that (resolve) before from our guys. \u2026 I thought our guys really dug in, and the huddle was amazing going into overtime,\u201d he said. \u201cInstead of being discouraged, they were like, \u2018We\u2019re going to win this game.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
John Sweeney gave the Timberwolves the lead for good, 92-90, on a layup in the opening moments of OT. Northwood kept the lead between two and four for most of the extra period before extending to a 98-93 advantage on a pair of free throws by Szamrej with 15 seconds left.<\/p>\n
Lake Erie\u2019s Amari Williams drained a 3-pointer to cut it to 98-96 with nine seconds to go, but Szamrej sealed the deal with two more free throws in the closing seconds.<\/p>\n
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Sweeney, a junior forward, came up particularly big in crunch time, not only hitting the go-ahead bucket in OT but also dominating the glass and altering numerous shots in the paint down the stretch.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s 6-10, extremely mobile, and takes up a lot of space. His ability to rebound the ball was huge for us,\u201d Church said of Sweeney. \u201cHe was one of the gameball winners for us tonight, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Northwood shot 49 percent (33 of 68) from the floor overall to the Storm\u2019s 40 percent (33 of 82) and had a big advantage at the foul line, making 24 of 34 free throws to Lake Erie\u2019s 11 of 16.<\/p>\n
Young led the Timberwolves with a game-high 30 points and six rebounds, while Eklund had 19 points, and Szamrej had 13 points, five assists, and four steals.<\/p>\n
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Simpson contributed nine points and six rebounds, Parker Day had eight points and seven rebounds, Jamonte Smith also had eight points, and Sweeney finished with seven points and a game-high 14 boards.<\/p>\n
\u201cWill Young has stepped up in huge ways, and I thought our point guards tonight were really good,\u201d Church said of Szamrej and Smith. \u201cThey were amazing at handling pressure, getting downhill, and making plays.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought Jamonte was really good in the first half, and I thought Bray was really, really good in the second half, just kind of controlling the tempo and knowing where we need to go with the ball,\u201d Church added.<\/p>\n
Welch led the Storm with 24 points, while Williams had 21 points, Gio Moore had 12 points, and Caelum Ethridge added 11.<\/p>\n
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The Timberwolves will head to Cedarville on Thursday, then to Ohio Dominican on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had just dropped two in a row, and we had some guys out, but we got healthy, and now we\u2019ve got to go on the road for two games next week,\u201d Church noted. \u201cThis is a pivotal point in the year. You can look back at this game down the road and see that it could be a catapult for the rest of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201c \u2026 We know that it\u2019s only one win, one game, but I like our urgency,\u201d he added. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to find a way to go on the road and get a win now.\u201d<\/p>\n
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