The Lakers continued play at St. Clair County Community College today as they faced the NJCAA #1 ranked Milwaukee Tech Stormers. In an epic battle, the Lakers would persevere and take down the top-ranked Stormers by a score of 85-82. With the win, the Lakers improve to 5-0 on the season. The teams battled back and forth throughout the entire first half. The Stormers biggest lead was 4 points just 5 minutes into the game. After taking a 10-6 lead, Dondi Harper would drain a 3-ponter to bring the Lakers right back in the game. The teams would remain within a point for the next several minutes until Jareon Mayo would hit a 3-pointer for a 19-16 Laker lead with about 10 minutes to play in the half. The Stormers would come back a little before Alex Benson hit a jumper. That was followed by a Stormer turnover and then a Chris Tackett dunk for a 6 point Laker lead. The Stormers would battle right back and the teams remained close for the rest of the half as the Lakers went into the break with a 45-43 lead. 

In the second half, the teams would continue to trade baskets before Milwaukee Tech took advantage of a couple of Lakeland missed shots and a turnover to take a 68-54 lead with just over 12 minutes to play. The Stormers would then get a tech called against them and Jareon Mayo would sink both free throws. After a Stormer missed shot, Mayo would nail a 3-pointer and suddenly the Lakers trailed 68-59. The Stormers would commit a foul and Alex Benson would hit 1-2 free throwns to inch closer at 68-60. Jareon Mayo would then get a steal and a layup to make the score 68-62 with 11 minutes to play. After the Stormers would sink 1 of 2 free throws, Alex Benson would make a layup and trim the score to 69-64 with 10 minutes to play. After a MTCC turnover, Adam Williams would connect on 1-2 free throws to make the score 69-65. Chris Tackett would then get a steal and Mayo would make a layup to make the score 69-67. The teams would trade baskets and the Stormers would increase their lead to 74-60 with 6:11 to play. PJ Daniels was then fouled and he would hit 1-2 free throws. Mayo would then get another steal and layup making the score 74-72 in favor of the Stormers with just over 5 minutes to play. Alex Benson would then get a steal and pick up an assist as PJ Daniels nailed a 3-pointer giving the Lakers a 75-74 lead with 4:23 to play. Chris Tackett would then have a big blocked shot before Mayo scored another laup to give the Lakers a 77-74 lead. The Stormers then hit a 3-pointer to tie the score before a Lakeland time out. After the timeout, Alex Benson would drain a big 3-pointer on an assist from Jareon Mayo putting the Lakers up 80-77 with 2:27 to play. MTCC would answer with a 3-pointer to tie it before Benson hit another jumper to regain the lead. After a Stormer missed shot, Mayo would score on a layup to give the Lakers an 84-80 lead with 1:34 to play. The teams would then trade free throw attempts as the Lakers closed out the win.

Eleven different Lakers scored today in the total team effort. Jareon Mayo was the high scorer for the Lakers as he finished with 24 points, 5 steals, and 4 rebounds. Alex Benson also had a strong game as he recorded 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 steals, PJ Daniels also had a big game adding 14 points and 7 rebounds. Chris Tackett recorded 3 blocks and 4 rebounds while Adam Williams added 3 points and 6 rebounds for the Lakers. Brandon Lane (4 points and 5 rebounds), Ansoumane Oulare (4 points and 4 rebounds), and Justin Covington (4 points and 3 rebounds) also added key stats in the Laker win. The Lakers finished shooting just under 39% from the field (32-83), 28% from the arc (7-25), and 58% (14-24) from the free throw line.

T's Talk: "We played pretty well today. Every time we subbed the next guy came in locked - there was no drop off. Our bench was really vocal and supportive throughout the game - it really helped. We played tremendous team basketball. The rotations and hustle on the defensive end were key to the win. Total team effort."

Next Up: The Lakers will return home on Tuesday (11/21) as they play host to the Schoolcraft Ocelots. The game is scheduled to tip at 7:00 pm.