It was another solid effort for the Nipissing Lakers men's basketball team, as they continue to find their way in the first half of the OUA season.

The Lakers, playing their second-last game before the Christmas break, hosted the Waterloo Warriors Friday night at the Robert J. Surtees Athletic Centre.

A tough end to the first half and slow start to the second hurt the Lakers, as they couldn't recover and dropped a tight contest by a final of 72-67.

Both teams came out hungry and shooting well, combining for 41 points in the first quarter, as the Lakers trailed by just one, 21-20 after the opening 10 minutes.

Waterloo took over in the second, pushing their advantage to seven points as they powered their way to a 41-34 lead after the halftime break.

In the third, they pulled away, ballooning their advantage to 13 points as they outscored the Lakers 22-16 in the third and led 63-50 after 30 minutes.

Nipissing pushed back and got the game within six late in the game.

Despite that push, the Lakers came up short, falling by five in the end.

Darnaz Mabanza led the Lakers offence with 22 points, Alvin Icyogere had 16 and Ricardo Neves had a double-double, posting 13 points and 10 rebounds.

The Lakers will wrap up the first half of the season at home Wednesday against Laurentian.

Game time is set for 8pm at the Robert J. Surtees Athletic Centre.