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Something had to give. 

With both the ��ɫ��Ƶ Centurions and the Mid Michigan Lakers each on their own winning streak, both teams knew one streak was going to end during a ��ɫ��ƵAA Northern matchup in Mount Pleasant, Wednesday, Feb. 4. Fortune favored the home team as the Lakers pushed their winning streak to 12 with an 81-63 win. 

It was a matchup of the top two teams in the ��ɫ��ƵAA Northern Conference, with Mid Michigan holding first place, undefeated in conference play, while ��ɫ��Ƶ was second, one game behind going into this game. Though it was an almost 20-point win for the Lakers, the Centurions can boast that it held the No. 17 Division II-ranked team in the country to its third-lowest total of the season. Mid Michigan has been averaging a league-leading 95.6 points per game.  

��ɫ��Ƶ sophomore point guard Zhian Briggs (Augusta, Ga.) said it was just a matter of venturing off the game plan that sunk the Centurions. 

“They are a great opponent, and we definitely wanted to win that game,” Briggs said. “We just didn’t execute our game plan. I think we were a little riled up and we got in our own way. In the end, we weren’t making shots.” 

The Lakers (8-0 ��ɫ��ƵAA North, 18-4 overall) had four players score in double digits, with Jaden Clark leading the way with 17 while also grabbing eight rebounds. Bryce White came off the bench to pitch in 16 points and seven rebounds. 

Sophomore Dawson Dunn (Big Rapids, Mich.) led ��ɫ��Ƶ with 15 points while sophomore teammate Makur Reclow (Louisville, Ky.) came off the bench to score eight points and collect four rebounds.  

Mid Michigan led in almost every team statistic except free throws, with ��ɫ��Ƶ shooting 88.2% (15-of-17) to Mid’s 65.2% (15-of-23). The Lakers had a 44-32 rebound advantage, a 16-14 assists advantage and shot 43.1% (28-of-65) from the field to ��ɫ��Ƶ’s 32.8% (20-of-61). 

��ɫ��Ƶ won’t be able to rest much as it hosts Bay College (5-3 ��ɫ��ƵAA North, 16-6 overall) Saturday, Feb. 7. The Norse are right on the Centurions’ heels in conference play, only one game behind. However, ��ɫ��Ƶ beat Bay, 71-54, in their first meeting, which was in Escanaba Jan. 10. 

Briggs knows his team can do it again, as long as the Centurions stick to the game plan and hit their shots. 

“We just have to keep grinding and take advantage of doing the little things right,” he said. “We have to focus on every part of our assignments that our coaches give us.” 

UP NEXT: The Centurions will host Bay College Saturday, Feb. 7. Tip-off is at 3 p.m.