Box Score The McMaster men's basketball team looked like an entirely different team than the one that lost three straight before the holiday break. McMaster fought hard the entire game and defeated the Nipissing Lakers 90-75 on Friday night in North Bay.
 
McMaster led the entire first quarter, but the Lakers were able to respond and managed to keep the game in reach, with Mac leading by 5 points going into the second.
 
In the second quarter, Mac looked like they would pull away as they had an eight-point lead midway through the second. However, Nipissing managed to finish the quarter on an 8-2 run topped off by a half-court buzzer-beater by Jaaden Lewis,  and McMaster went into halftime holding on to a slim 36-34 lead.
 
The third quarter was all McMaster, as they began to build up the lead. Impressive play by Rohan Boney and Connor Gilmore helped Mac go into the fourth quarter with a comfortable 15-point lead. Gilmore topped off the third quarter with a buzzer-beater of his own, nailing a shot from well beyond half court, before walking to the bench.
 
The Lakers refused to give up without a fight in the final quarter, and started the fourth on a 15-4 run to cut Mac's lead down to four points with five minutes left in the game. The Marauders then responded with a run of their own before finishing out the game with a 15-point victory.
 
Gilmore led the way for McMaster dropping 27 points with nine rebounds and four steals. Boney chipped in 20 points himself as both helped secure the victory for the Marauders.
 
The Marauders will now look to turn their losing streak into a winning streak as they head to Sudbury for Saturday's game against the Laurentian Voyageurs.
 
The game can be streamed online at 8-pm on oua.tv.
 
By Jonah Tuck