The Lakeland College men's basketball team opened the game on a 14-0 run, enough to propel the team to a 91-78 win over Rockford (Ill.) University Saturday afternoon at the Woltzen Gymnasium.

The Muskies never trailed in winning their third straight game and improving to 9-0 at home this season. Lakeland also swept the season series with the Regents and improved to 14-4 overall and 10-3 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference, while also knocking Rockford back to 9-10 overall and 5-9 in the NACC.

The Muskies scored the game's first 14 points in just over 3 1/2 minutes, hitting six consecutive shots in the early going. Lakeland led by as many as 18 in the first 20 minutes and scored 56 points in the first half, taking a 56-44 halftime lead on the strength of hot shooting early. The hosts shot 55.0% in the first 20 minutes, making 22 of 40 shots.

The Muskies never were in danger of trailing, though Rockford recovered from its tough start to keep the hosts on their toes. The Regents got within nine points in the first half as Scott Suchy scored 21 first half points to carry the visitors.

Rockford also got within six points when Zach Wallace scored inside to make it 56-50 just after halftime, but Lakeland slowly built the lead back into double figures. The Muskies eventually led by 19 on two occasions midway through the half, and the Regents the rest of the way never got closer than the 13-point final margin.

Justin Ward (Sr.-Wisconsin Dells, Wis.) was dominant on the offensive end, making 10 of 17 shots en route to 26 points and seven rebounds. Ward helped lead an inside-heavy offense, as Lakeland scored 50 of its points in the paint.

Joey Burris (Jr.-Kiel, Wis.) scored 14 points, Stan McKenzie (Jr.-Racine, Wis.) chipped in 12 and Travis Kell (Fr.-Madison, Wis.) added 10 points as well as nine rebounds off the bench, making 5 of 6 shots. Lakeland finished the game shooting 49.3% (34 of 69) from the field and 75.0% (18 of 24) from the free throw line. The Muskies also won the rebounding battle 42-40.

Suchy cooled off in the second half and finished with 25 points, while NACC leading scorer David Dixon added 24 points and 10 rebounds. Dixon needed 24 shots to score his points, though, shooting 9-for-24 from the floor, and he also committed 10 turnovers.

Lakeland swept both regular season meetings with the Regents, as the Muskies also won 99-74 on Jan. 8. The Muskies also reached the 90-point mark for the eighth time this season.

Lakeland faces another tough road game on Tuesday when it travels to face rival Concordia University Wisconsin at 7 p.m. in Mequon.