The Lakeland men's basketball team, currently ranked 9th in DII basketball by the NJCAA, traveled to crosstown rival Cuyahoga Community College to face off against the Triceratops with first place on the line in the OCCAC. The Lakers came away with a hard-fought 99-96 overtime victory to improve their record to 20-4 and 12-1 in OCCAC play. Lakeland now holds a 2 game lead over Cuyahoga with 3 games to play. The Hocking game has not been completed yet, but the Lakers also have at least a 2 game lead over the Hawks as well - but face them in Hocking on Saturday.

The first half of the game was a battle as both teams had high energy and worked to gain ther advantage. Jaidon Lipscomb scored 13 points and Elhadji Thiam recorded 9 points in the first half to pace the Lakers. Zach Wartley and Jaden Woods each finished with 8 points in the first half while Landon Tillman chipped in 6 points in the opening frame. Despite those efforts, the Lakers went into the break trailing 49-46. Both teams continued to battle throughout the second half and the score remained close throughout. With the Lakers trailing, 84-82, Zach Wartley drained a 3-pointer to give the Lakers the 85-84 advantage with 1:19 to play in regulation. After Jaden Woods drew a charge, the Lakers would turn the ball over on a travelling call. On Tri-C's next possession, they would drive the lane and get the foul call. They sank both free throws for an 86-85 lead with 35 seconds to play.  On Lakeland's next possession, Landon Tillman would draw the foul as he drove the lane. Tillman connected on 1-2 free throws to knot the score at 86 with 24.7 seconds to play. Lakeland then stepped up it's defensive pressure and would not surrender a quality opportunity before tipping a ball ot of play with less than 5 seconds to play. Cuyahoga was unable to get a quality shot in the closing seconds and so the teams headed to overtime. 

Cuyahoga would have the first possession and miss their shot. Jaden Woods collected the rebound and was fouled. Woods connected on both free throws to give the Lakers an 88-86 lead. After a Tri-C miss, Landon Tillman was fouled on a drive and would connect on 1-2 free throws for an 89-86 Laker lead. Cuyahoga would then get fouled on their next shot and connect on both free throws to close the Laker lead to 89-88. On the Lakers next possession, Jaden Woods would drive through the lane and make a layup for a 91-88 advantage. The Triceratops would then make a layup to make the score 91-90. Lakeland would then come down and Landon Tillman would hit a fade away 6' jumper for a 93-90 Laker lead with 2:30 to play. Cuyahoga would come down and score on a short jumper to make the score 93-92. Both teams would then miss shots and on Tri-C's next possession, they would be miss, but the Lakers would be called for a foul while battling for the rebound. Tri-C would sink both free throws for a 94-93 adavanatge with under a minute to play in overtime. On the Lakers next possession, Elhadji Thiam would find Jaidon Lipscomb under the basket where he connected on a layup and a 95-94 Laker lead. Cuyahoga would miss their next shot and then Jaden Woods would get fouled on a drive to the basket. Woods connected on both free throws to extend the Lakers lead to 97-94 with 12.2 seconds to play. Cuyahoga would then race the court and score on an uncontested layup as the Lakers didn't want to foul and give Tri-C a chance for a 3-point play. The score was now 97-96 with 7.2 seconds to play. After a Laker timeout, they would inbound the ball and eventually get the ball to Landon Tillman where he was fouled with 4 seconds to play. Tillman calmly stepped to the line and drained them both for a 99-96 Laker lead. Cuyahoga would then try to race the floor and throw up a last second shot from well beyond the arc that did not fall and sealed the Laker win.

Lakeland had a balanced offensive attack as five players finished in double digits. Jaidon Lipsomb led the Lakers with 24 points and Elhadji Thiam finished with 22 points during the game. Jaden Woods finished his night with 19 points while Landon Tillman added 17 points for the Lakers. Zach Wartley scored 16 points in the Lakers win.

T's Thoughts:  "This was a tough road win against a very good team that is well-coached. Our players responded to every run they made - we really were pushed and worked hard. I'm proud of our effort and am looking forward to seeing how we finish up as we are starting to get healthy. Nice team effort - we need to regroup quickly though as we have another tough road game this weekend."

Next Up: The Lakers will travel to Hocking College on Saturday to face the Hawks in a 1:00 pm tip. On Monday, 2/20, Lakeland will have it's final home game of the season as they host the Owens Express in a 7:30 tip. Sophomores will be recognized prior to the game.