The Lakeland Lakers played host to the Christian Community College Lions (Detroit) today in a non-league matchup and came away with a convincing 121-61 victory. The Lakers record now stands at 19-4 overall and 11-1 in conference play. The game featured an early run by each team before the Lakers took over the game. The Lakers begin the game with an early 8-0 lead as Zach Wartley connected on a pair of 3-pointers before Elhadji Thiam sank a pair of free throws. The Lakers then committed a couple of turnovers and missed a few shots and actually trailed 14-12 before they took the game over. Jaden Woods collected a ball off of a Branden Lane block and fed Jaidon Lipscomb on a long pass and layup to knot the score at 14. Lipscomb would then connect on a 3-pointer and another layup off of Lion misses to increase the Laker lead to 19-14. The Lions would close the gap to 19-18 before Landon Tillman fed Lipscomb for a layup after a Woods steal. After a Lions miss, Thiam would feed Woods for a layup and a 23-18 lead. After a pair of Lions free throws, Jaden Woods would score on a pass from Lipscomb. After a Lions turnover, Lipscomd would feed Brandon Lane for a layup. The Lions would then miss their next shot and Wartley would connect on a layup to give the Lakers a 29-20 lead. Jaidon Lipscomb would then deflect the inbounds pass for the Lions and Landon Tillman would scoop it up a race for another layup and a 31-20 Laker lead. After a Lion 3-pointer, Brandon Lane would score on a layup. On the Lions next possession, Lane would grab the rebound and feed the releasing Lipscomb for another layup and a 37-23 Laker lead. From their, the Lakers would continue to increase their lead and go into the half with a 61-32 advantage as Zach Wartley connected on a 3-pointer as time expired at the break. The second half would feature more of the same as the Lakers controlled play throughout on their way to the decisive win.
Five Lakers finished in double digits for the Lakers. Zach Wartley and Brandon Lane each led Lakeland with 27 points. Jaidon Lipscomb finished his afternoon with 22 points while Landon Tillman scored 18 points in the win. Dondi Harper II added 10 points to help pace the Lakers while Elhadji Thiam finished with 9 points in the matinee. Jaden Woods picked up 8 points in the Lakers win.
T's Thoughts: "We followed our game and did a nice job working the play. Everyone shared the ball which was good to see. Nice win for the team - it's time to start getting ready to close out the season strong."
Next Up: The Lakers will travel to Cuyahoga CC (Metro campus) on Wednesday (2/15) to face the Triceratops. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 pm.
Updated Game Change: The Lakers game against the Owens Express has been reschedule for Monday, February 20. This will be the Lakers last home game of the year and is Sophomore Night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 pm.
