KIRTLAND, Ohio – Lakeland men's basketball had a 12 point lead at halftime and just enough in the tank to hold off a late rally to beat No. 16 Edison State Community College 80-79 Saturday afternoon.

John Dawson was four assists shy of a triple-double as he finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to help Lakeland improve to 22-6 overall and 11-4 in Ohio Community College Athletic Conference play. Edison State fell to 11-4 in OCCAC play.

Four of the five starters for Lakeland reached double figures as Rob Brown tossed in 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Isaiah Washington scored 13 points while Jonny Bowers scored 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for a double-double.

Lakeland put together a strong first half with 18 points with the help of four made 3-pointers while Bowers added 11 points. Dawson made a layup with 14:40 left in the first half to guide Lakeland to a 17-3 lead.

The Lakers were largely able to maintain their lead in the first half as Edison State trailed 42-29 at the half.

The second half was not as easy but Brown did score 13 in the second half while Washington added 10. The second half started well enough as Bowers made a layup with 15:47 left to take a 54-36 lead.

Edison State made the game closer as it cut the Lakeland lead down to 10 at 78-68 with 3:43 left. The Lakers only made two more points the remaining 3:43 as Edison State went on a 11-2 run and had a look at a game winner miss long as the Lakers held on for the one-point win.

Lakeland will finish off the regular season on Saturday, March 2 at Sinclair Community College for a game at 3 p.m. Sinclair is currently 9-5 in OCCAC play.

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.