The nation's 9th ranked Lakeland Lakers played host to the Owens Express this afternoon in OCCAC action. After defeating the Express on the road Wednesday, the Lakers wasted little time before jumping out to a commanding lead and then rolling to a 78-58 victory. The two teams traded baskets early today and the Lakers even trailed 16-14 for the first 8 minutes of the game. In the next 4 minutes, the Lakers turned it on defensively and took advantage of the Express offensively. Jareon Mayo started the stretch with a 3-pointer to give the Lakers the lead at 17-16. The Lakers defense forced the Express into a tough shot miss before PJ Daniels hit a driving layup for a 19-16 lead. Alex Benson then stole the ball and layed it in for a 21-16 lead. Bishop Thomas then collected a defensive rebound and fed Mayo streaking down the court for a layup and a 23-16 lead. After another Owens miss, Benson was fouled and connected on both free throws. On the Express' next possession, Brandon Lane had a block and rebound. Lane fed Benson for a layup to give the Lakers an 11 point lead, 27-16, in the blink of an eye. The Lakers would continue to expand their lead the rest of the half and go into the break with a 43-26 lead. The second half featured consistent play by the Lakers as they freely subbed throughout. The lead was between 17-22 points throughout most of the second half as Lakeland sailed to the victory.

Ten different Lakers scored in a very balanced attack. Alex Benson and Jareon Mayo led the way with 16 points each. Ansoumane Oulare collected 9 points while Bishop Thomas picked up 8 points. PJ Daniels and Justin Covington each added 7 points while Dasjaun Williams finished with 6 points. Adam Williams, Brandon Lane, and Nate Houston also added to the scoring punch in the Lakers win. 

Player's Thoughts:  Alex Benson: "Coach is always talking to us about staying solid and being disciplined. We did that today. We will need to carry that over into Monday if we want to be successful."

T's Thoughts: "A little slow start, but then we played good defense. I was happy as everyone got to play and we were able to spread the scoring around."

Next Up: The Lakers will have a quick turnaround as they travel to Hocking College Monday (1/29) to face the Hawks in a 6:30 tip.