Box Score The Windsor Lancers Men's Basketball team dropped an 87-83 thriller to the #2 ranked Lakehead Thunderwolves on Friday night at the St. Denis Centre.

With the loss, the Lancers fall to 11-4 in conference play but remain in third place in the OUA West division. They now sit two games back of first place Lakehead (13-2) and Laurier who are tied atop the standings.

Saturday night's game was billed as a battle of two of the top teams in the OUA West and neither team disappointed. In front of a packed house at the St. Denis Centre, both teams battled hard all night with neither team able to separate from the other.

In the opening quarter, the Thunderwolves jumped out to an early five-point lead and extended to a 19-10 advantage after ten minutes.

The Lancers battled back in the second as they used some pressure defense to force a number of Lakehead turnovers in the frame. Windsor erased much of the deficit late in the quarter before the Thunderwolves re-built a slight halftime advantage, 36-30.

Lakehead was 12 of 26 from the field (46%) in the opening half and shot 88% from the free throw line (7 of 8). Windsor was 10 of 30 from the field (33%) at the break and 7 of 13 from the line.

The second half continued to be a battle as both teams heated up from the field. The Lancers mounted a furious charge late in the third quarter as veteran Evan Matthews made his presence felt in the post. The third year forward was a force inside as he cut the lead to five with a huge dunk, make the score 62-57.

In the final quarter, the Lancers completed the comeback as they worked the ball inside and out with effectiveness. Finally, with only 1:58 to play, Jahmal McQueen knocked down a huge three pointer to the delight of the crowd to give the Lancers an 81-80 lead.

However, Lakehead wasn't done themselves, as they came back with a clutch three-pointer of their own to go ahead 83-81 in the final minute. Some solid free throw shooting by the Thunderwolves in the final seconds secured the hard fought 87-83 victory.

For the game, the Thunderwolves finished 27 of 57 from the field (47%) including a solid 13 of 27 from three-point range. The Lancers finished 28 of 67 from the field (42%) but only 8 of 21 from three-point range.

Lancer guard Enrico Diloreto led all scorers with 22 points on 7 of 16 shooting. Lien Phillip added 12 points and 12 rebounds, but was only 2 of 7 from the field. Evan Matthews had a strong game inside for Windsor as he finished with 11 points and 6 rebounds.

Lakehead was led by Venzal Russell who finished with 20 points and 4 assists on 8 of 18 shooting. Ben Johnson added 19 points and Greg Carter chipped in with 13 points.

These two teams will be back in action on Saturday night in what should be a thrilling re-match at the St. Denis Centre. Tip-off is set for 8pm.