The Lakeland men's basketball team travelled to Port Huron, MI tonight to play the St. Clair County Skippers in a rematch. This was not the Lakers night as they fell to the Skippers 84-73. With the loss, the Lakers record falls to 3-1. A 9-day layoff was too much for the Lakers to overcome as they struggled with inconsistent shooting and untimely turnovers. Lakeland jumped out to a 6-0 lead on two 3-pointers from Zach Wartley to start the game. The Skippers fought back taking advantage of Lakeland missed shots to tie the score at 6. The two teams would battle the rest of the half with each team taking leads at different points. The first half finished with the Lakers trailing 38-36.

With under 13 minutes to play in the second half, Lakeland took a 10 point lead. The run was keyed by a Jaidon Lipscomb made jump shot and pair of free throws and then a Brandon Lane layup. The Skippers would answer with a 10-0 run as they took advantage of some poor shooting and turnovers by the Lakers. Lakeland would take it's final lead of the night, 64-63, after a Jevon France 3-pointer with 6:22 to play. St. Clair then took advantage of more poor shooting from the Lakers as they missed open jumpers and layups. The Skippers would later hit their free throws down the stretch to lengthen their lead and close out the win. Overall, the Lakers shot under 37% from the field (24-65) and just 68% from the free throw line (15-22).

The Lakers were led by Jaidon Lipscomb who scored 30 points and added 9 rebounds. Zach Wartley finished with 16 points while Jevon France finished with 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 steals. Landon Tillman picked up 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists in the defeat. Brandon Lane scored 4 points and added 11 rebounds and 2 blocked shots while Chris Tackett chipped in 4 points and 9 boards for the Lakers.

Next Up: Kalamazoo Valley had to cancel with the Lakers due to inclement weather. The Lakers will now play league foe Bryant and Stratton in a 2:00 pm non-conference matchup in Port Huron.