KIRTLAND, Ohio – Lakeland Community College men's basketball came out while looking for its first victory of the season in a 114-85 beating of Pitt-Titusville to open the TJ Memorial Tournament Friday night.
With the win, the Lakers improve to 1-2 behind 18 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the 3-point line from Ben Sternberg to lead the way. Lakeland will next face Jackson College for the tournament championship on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 4 p.m.
Lakeland had six players in double figures as Aaron Pate scored 16 points while Cordell Dupree chipped in 15 points. Solomon Hall earned a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds while Ty Howard scored 12 points and Micah Hill tossed in 11 points in the win.
Lakeland started a little sluggish in the opening minutes as Titusville jumped out to an 11-4 lead but the Lakers would recover. Seven consecutive points from Howard with 7:39 left in the first half helped Lakeland out to a 37-30 lead.
The lead only got bigger before halftime as Micah Hill drained a 3-pointer with 14.8 left to give the Lakers a 60-46 lead at the break. Sternberg scored 11 in the first 20 minutes while Hall and Howard each scored 10 points.
Lakeland broke open the game early on in the second half as the Lakers scored five straight points that was capped by a dunk by Trey Granger for a 70-51 lead with 16:19 left. The Lakers had the opportunity to show off its depth of talent and still run away with a 29-point victory. Pate was able to lead Lakeland with 10 points in the second half.
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.
