Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 The Nipissing Lakers men's basketball team earned a hard-fought split on the road this past weekend and in the process, picked up their second win in the past three games.

The Lakers came up short Friday night, losing 88-67 to the Toronto Varsity Blues in Toronto, before bouncing back for a thrilling 66-65 victory Saturday, as they hit a buzzer-beater to steal a win.

With the 1-1 weekend, Nipissing now sits at 3-5 on the season.

The Varsity Blues got the jump on Nipissing early on, jumping out to a23-14 lead in the opening quarter and pushing their advantage to 55-33 at halftime.

It was more of the same in the second half, as the Lakers kept pace, but were unable to close the gap.

Nipissing was outscored 21-19 in the third and 22-15 in the fourth, as the Blues picked up the win.

Muktar Mohamed led the way for Nipissing with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Nathan Riley and David Bokanga each added 12 in the loss.

In the second matchup of the weekend, the Lakers saved some heroics for the final quarter.

After trailing 21-14 after the first and 39-33 at halftime, the Lakers looked to bounce back in the second half, but it was Toronto that extended their lead by two points after 30 minutes of play.

Down 54-46 heading into the final frame, Nipissing posted a big fourth, scoring 20 points, including a last second three-pointer by Ricardo Neves to pick up the win.

The buzzer-beater erased an eight point deficit and capped off a quarter where the Lakers outscored Toronto 20-11.

Nick Gehlen had a big night, scoring 23 points, while Bokanga added 16 and Mohamed chipped in with 10 in the victory.

Up next, the Lakers face the Laurentian Voyageurs in a home-and-home, beginning Thursday in Sudbury, with the rematch set for Saturday at the RJ Surtees Athletic Centre.