Capping off Bell Let's Talk Day and adding another chapter to the 705 Challenge Cup rivalry, the Nipissing Lakers men's basketball team and Laurentian Voyageurs hit the court at the RJS Athletic Centre.

An early lead for the Lakers had them looking and feeling good and had the crowd on their feet, but the skilled and nationally ranked Voyageurs didn't go away, slowly climbing their way back into the game and coming way with an 82-72 win over Nipissing.

The energy in the stands was phenomenal as the game kicked off.

Starting off strong, the Lakers managed to snag the jump ball and get the first basket, setting the tone for the first quarter. Nipissing continued here managing to maintain a slight lead and held an advantage of 15-6.

Laurentian stormed back, however, finishing the first quarter up 22-20.

Going into the second quarter, the game continued back and forth before Laurentian took off. Nipissing continued playing a high energy game, but it was the Vees who came away with the 40-31 lead after 20 minutes of play.

The third quarter saw a huge push back from the Lakers, who scored 25 points to not only climb back into the game, but also grab the lead again.

After three quarters, the Lakers trailed 57-56 setting up a thrilling final frame.

The fourth quarter was a mirror image of the third, as the Lakers were outscored 25-16 as Laurentian pushed back to take control of the game and come away with the 10 point win.

Jaaden Lewis led the way with 22 points, Marcus Lewis added 19 and Justin Shaver had 8 in Wednesday night's contest versus Laurentian.

The Lakers return to action Saturday when they take on Laurentian in a rematch in Sudbury.