The Lakeland men's basketball team traveled to Columbus today to face the NJCAA DIII 11th ranked Cougars and came out on the short end of a 109-104 game. With the loss, the Lakers fall to 13-6 and 5-1 in the OCCAC. The Cougars improve to 12-5 and 5-0 in conference play. This game was a game of runs and went back and forth throughout. The Lakers largest lead was 8 points and their biggest deficit was 10 points. Mostly, the two teams battled back and forth throughout the game.

In this tightly contested game, it came down to the final few possessions to determine the victor. With the Lakers trailing 107-104, reminiscent to the most recent game against Cuyahoga, Tyreke Johnson had the ball and was shooting a three. This time, the results were different as he was unable to convert.  While taking the shot, he had Cougar defenders draped all over him, but instead was called for a travel. The Lakers quickly fouled on the ensuing possession and the Cougars drained both free throws to closeout the game.

Julian Jackson had a strong game for the Lakers scoring 18 points on good outside shooting. Dale James also played a strong game as his energy gave the Lakers a spark in the first half while playing strong defense on the guards throughout. Tyshaun Howard also had a strong game off the bench hitting several 3-pointers. 

Stats were not availble at the time of this release.

Bowe Bytes: "That was a hard fought game that could have gone either way. In the end, we just didn't do what we needed to in order to win the game. We gave up 109 points - that's just too many. We need to turn the page and get ready for next week - two important games against two strong league opponents."

Next up: The Lakers return home for the next two contests as they play host to the Owens Express on Wednesday at 7:30 pm and then the Edison Chargers on Saturday (2/1) at 3:00 pm. Admission to all Laker games is free.