Coe, Nunn Heat Up; PNW Men Drop Season Finale, 92-84, to LSSU
Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – Senior Tyree Coe (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) and junior Chris Nunn (Anderson, Ind./Liberty Christian) both had big performances, but the Purdue Northwest men’s basketball team dropped its season finale Saturday, 92-84, to Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) opponent Lake Superior State University (Mich.) at Bud Cooper Gymnasium in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The game was tied 82-82 with 1:54 to play in regulation, but despite one of their best offensive outings of the season, the Pride could not get the key baskets necessary in the closing seconds to pull off the upset.
Coe finished with 23 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the floor, while Chris Nunn dropped 21 points hitting nine of his 11 field goal attempts from the field. As a team, PNW shot an impressive 56 percent (29-for-52) for the game, including 41 percent (9-for-22) from the three-point arc. LSSU improved to 22-6 overall and 16-4 in the GLIAC with Saturday’s victory.
Senior Torrance Johnson (Chicago Heights, Ill./Chicago Hope Academy) had a nice outing as well for the Pride finishing with 16 points in the final game of his collegiate career. Sophomore Franklin Nunn (Anderson, Ind./Liberty Christian) and freshman Richard Robertson (Fort Wayne, Ind./Fort Wayne Northrup) each scored 11 points for Purdue Northwest in the regular season finale.
The Lakers opened the game with four quick points, but the Pride battled back and tied the game at 9-9 following a lay-up by Johnson at the 16:34 mark of the first half. A run by LSSU over the game’s next four minutes put the hosts up, 26-13, with 12 minutes remaining in the period. A lay-up by Johnson and a jumper by Coe helped trim the deficit to nine, 28-19, but Lake Superior State responded with another big run to push its lead to 18, 40-22.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Coe fueled a 10-2 surge for PNW that made it a 10-point game, 42-32, with five minutes left in the half. LSSU had an answer for all of the Pride’s baskets to close out the period and took a 52-40 lead into the halftime break. Chris Nunn came out on fire in the second half scoring eight of PNW’s first 11 points to help draw his team within seven, 58-51, with 15:08 remaining in regulation.
A three-pointer by Robertson made it a six-point game, 60-54; but LSSU responded with a 7-2 run to go back ahead by double figures, 67-56. Chris Nunn led another big surge for the Pride scoring six points in a 12-4 run that closed the gap to three points, 71-68, with 6:44 to play. Another three-pointer by Robertson with 3:52 remaining brought PNW to within two, 80-78, and Johnson tied the game at 80-80 with a pair of free throws on the Pride’s next possession.
Purdue Northwest finishes its 2017-18 season with a 2-26 overall record and its first season in the GLIAC with a 2-18 conference mark. The Pride ranked 12th in the 12-team conference in the final regular season standings.
