DANVILLE, Ill – Lakeland men's basketball had a rough game offensively and was unable to recover in a 72-63 loss to John Wood (IL) Community College in the NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament consolation Friday afternoon.

With the loss, Lakeland finishes the season with a 26-8 overall record, a District 11 championship and an opening round victory against Dakota County Technical College at the national tournament.

John Dawson led Lakeland in scoring with 17 points and added seven rebounds. Tyreke Johnson and Rob Brown each scored 11 in the loss.

Lakeland got off to a slow start offensively and trailed John Wood 16-7 in the first nine minutes. Lakeland did cut into the lead later in the first half as Chandler Fointno drilled a 3-pointer to get within 22-21 with 3:38 left in the opening half. Lakeland did trailed the entire first half as John Wood held a 29-24 lead at the break.

The Lakers grabbed their first lead with 16:17 left in the second half after Johnson hit a bucket for a 35-34 lead. Lakeland led by as much as five points in the second half but it was John Wood taking advantage of taking twice as many free throws as the Lakers and pulling ahead in the final minutes to claim the victory.

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.