In their final game of the 2024-25 OUA season, the Nipissing Lakers men's basketball team was looking to go out on top.

The Lakers hosted the Lakehead Thunderwolves at the Robert J. Surtees Athletic Centre and while they competed hard for the contest, they fell 86-74.

A quiet start offensively by both teams had Lakehead out in front 9-5 midway through the first quarter.

After one, Nipissing was down just one point, 14-13 after finishing the quarter strong.

Lakehead extended their lead early in the second, as the Lakers trailed 25-17 midway through.

At the halftime break, the Lakers were down 36-30, looking for a big third to close the gap.

A slow start to the third quarter for the Lakers allowed Lakehead to extend their lead, pushing the advantage to 55-39 at the midway point.

To close out the third, the Thunderwolves pushed their lead to 65-49.

In the fourth, Nipissing stepped up and closed the gap, outscoring Lakehead and putting on pressure as they looked to close the gap and get within striking distance.

Unfortunately, they ran out of gas, falling by 12 points despite a valiant effort in the end.

Alvin Icyogere led the Lakers with 21 points, Darnaz Mabanza had 19 and Ricardo Neves added 14 in the game.