KIRTLAND, Ohio – Lakeland men's basketball finished off the first half strong and that momentum carried over to a 90-73 victory over Sinclair Community College Saturday afternoon.
Lakeland had four of its five starters in double figures as the Lakers were led by 18 points from John Dawson. Behind Dawson, Lakeland improved to 15-4 overall and 5-2 in Ohio Community College Athletic Conference play. Sinclair fell to 3-3 in the OCCAC.
Rob Brown added 17 points and eight rebounds, Ronald Vann chipped in 12 points while Chandler Fointno and Tyreke Johnson each scored 10 points.
The first half was impressive for Lakeland, especially the tail end of the first half. Vann scored 10 of his 12 total points in the first half while Fointno chipped in eight. Lakeland also hit exactly half of its 40 total shots in the first 20 minutes.
Brown extended the Lakeland lead to 20-12 with 10:37 left after making a jump shot in the first half.
Sinclair was able to get within 27-24 with 6:01 left but Lakeland was able to finish off the first half by outscoring Sinclair 24-9 to claim a 51-33 lead at halftime.
Brown and Dawson both found success on offense in the second half. Brown scored 12 and Dawson added 11 to help keep Sinclair at bay.
Sinclair was able to get within 56-47 with 16:22 left in the game but a 3-pointer by Allen Sims helped get Lakeland up by 16 at 66-50 with 12:38 left.
Sinclair wasn't able to get the Lakeland lead under 10 points for the rest of the game as Lakeland cruised to a 17-point victory.
Lakeland has now won two in a row and will look to continue winning when it travels to face Columbus State Community College on Jan. 30 at 7:30 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.
