MILWAUKEE – MSOE men's basketball has been a second half team as of late, making a comeback of some sorts in several games this season to take home the victory. They tried to do it one more time when they took on Lakeland but a crazy play to end the last 20 minutes of action went by the wayside as the Raiders fell in overtime to the Muskies by eight.

FINAL SCORE IN OVERTIME
Lakeland – 97
MSOE RAIDERS – 89

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The MSOE (5-4, 2-2 NACC) long distance game struggled mightily in the first half as only two of their 15 attempts connected in a period where they shot just 34.4 percent. Lakeland (7-3, 2-2 NACC) on the other hand could do no wrong on the other end of the court and took a 14-point lead into halftime behind seven successful shots from long range and 16 made baskets overall.
• Never count this Raider team down and out though. The Muskies increased their lead to 17 in the first few minutes of the second stanza before the Red & White started chipping away. MSOE rattled off a 20-2 run over the course of six minutes to take a one point lead with 12:21 to go.
• The advantage went back and forth a few times, but it wasn't looking good for the Raiders as minutes left on the clock became seconds. However, Mason Dopirak was fouled on an unsuccessful tray attempt to send him to the line with the Raiders down three. Dopirak made the first, missed the second, and intentionally missed the third after a Red & White timeout to give themselves a chance at the tie. The brick worked and they would even things up after a Matus Dopirak put back to send the game into overtime.
• Unfortunately, the good guys were unable to finish off the comeback in the extra frame. Fouls became an issue with the Muskies converting on eight of ten from the charity stripe. LU also went 3-for-3 from downtown to hold off the Raiders in a 97-89 MSOE loss.

RAIDER REMARKS

• The loss snaps the two game Raiders winning streak over the Muskies. MSOE still holds a comfortable advantage in the last ten meetings though at 7-3.
• Freshman Mason Dopirak led the Raiders in all five major statistical categories this afternoon and registered his second double-double of the season.

MSOE STAT TRACKER
Points – Mason Dopirak (20)
Rebounds – Mason Dopirak (10)
Assists – Mason Dopirak (4)
Steals – Mason Dopirak (2)
Blocks – Mason Dopirak (2)

WHO'S ON DECK
The Raiders will be pretty far away from the Kern Center next time they hit the court. They'll begin a two game road trip in Southern California starting on Wednesday, December 28^th when they take on Occidental in Los Angles at 7:00 pm central time.

For up-to-the-minute MSOE Raiders news, visit us at www.go-raiders.com. You can also follow the Red & White on Twitter @MSOE_Raiders and @msoe_raiders on Instagram.