The Lakeland men's basketball team played host to Hocking College on Saturday night and came away with an 80-72 win over the Hawks. With the victory, the Lakers improve to 6-2 overall and 1-0 in conference play. Lakeland got off to a strong start as they raced to an 8-0 lead to start the game. Chris Tackett started the scoring by making a layup 20 seconds into the game. After a Laker steal, Landon Tillman connected on a 10 foot jumper. After another Lakeland steal, Tackett connected on another layup. Hocking would miss on their next shot and Jaidon Lipsomb dribbled it down and scored around the rim to stake the Lakers to the early 8-0 lead, a lead they would never relinquish. The Lakers lead would remain at 8 points until about the 11 minute mark when Jaden Woods would score on a drive to the basket. Elhadji Thiam would later draw a charge allowing Tillman to hit two free thows on the ensuing possession to push the lead 20-8. the teams would trade baskets for most of the rest of the half until Jevon France made a driving layup late in the first half to give the Lakers a 40-25 lead at the break.
Early in the second half, the Lakers expanded their lead to 19 (50-31) after another Tillman jumper. At that point, the Hawks started to battle back as they went on a little run. Hocking would take advantage of some Lakeland missed shots and miscues to trim their deficit to just 7 points at 70-63 with 3:11 to play in the game. Dondi Harper II then stepped up and hit a big 3 pointer to push the lead back to 10 points. The Hawks would answer with a three of their own, but then Landon Tillman sank 1of 2 free throws before Jaidon Lipscomb hit another 3 pointer on a Chris Tackett pass as time was expiring on the shot clock. This pushed the lead back to 11 at 74-63 with 1:10 to play in the game. The Lakers closed out the game as Tillman and Lipscomb both connected on free throws down the stretch.
Landon Tillman would finish as the Lakers high scorer with 26 points. Jaidon Lipscomg continued his strong play adding 16 points while chris Tackett would finish his night with 10 points. Jaden Woods scored 7 points for the Lakers while Bishop Thomas added 6 points in the win. Jevon France and Zach Wartley each chipped in 4 points for the Lakers.
T's Thoughts: "We played very physical tonight and had good man-defense. We really followed the game plan to perfection. We did have a couple of lulls at points in the games which allowed them back in, but we were able to pick it up and really play strong pretty much throughout. Chris Tackett really played big and Landon Tillman played very well. Jaidon was Jaidon - but the whole team really played a part in this. I was happy to see everyone chip in."
Next Up: On Wednesday (12/7), the Lakers will play host to the Terra State Tartans. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm in Laker Gym.
