KIRTLAND, Ohio – Lakeland Community College men's basketball had spurts of offense that gave it a chance to win but it was Edison State Community College coming away with a 71-66 victory Wednesday night.
With the loss, the Lakers fall to 5-19 overall and 4-11 in Ohio Community College Athletic Conference play.
Jeramie Burge and Aaron Pate each scored 14 points for lead Lakeland in the loss. Ben Sternberg hit some big shots late and finished with 12 points while Trey Granger finished with 11 points. Solomon Hall only scored three points but hauled in 13 rebounds.
Lakeland started off good as a pair of free throws from Chandler Fointno gave the Lakers a 16-15 lead halfway through the opening half. The lead went back and forth for a couple of minutes as Pate grabbed an offensive rebound and slammed home a dunk for a 20-19 lead with 7:24 left in the half.
That would be the last lead for the Lakers as Edison State finished off the half on a 13-6 run to take a 33-26 lead at the half. Granger did lead the Lakers with seven points in the first 20 minutes.
Lakeland had a hard time getting any momentum in the first 10 minutes of the second half but the Lakers stormed back to take a 53-52 lead after a 3 from Sternberg with 8:56 left. Sternberg made seven points in a row for Lakeland as he pair of free throws gave the Lakers a 57-56 lead with 7:09 left.
Unfortunately, that would be the final Lakeland lead as Edison State showed poise down the stretch to secure the five-point victory.
Lakeland will close out the regular season with a home game against Sinclair Community College on Saturday, March 3 at 3 p.m.
For more information about Lakeland athletics, visit www.athletics.lakelandcc.edu.
About Lakeland Community College
Founded in 1967, Lakeland Community College was the first college in Ohio created by a vote of the people. True to our mission, Lakeland provides quality learning opportunities to meet the social and economic needs of the community.
Offering day, evening, weekend and online classes, the college serves more than 10,800 credit and 2,800 noncredit students (2016). For more information about the College, visit www.lakelandcc.edu.
