The Lakers men's basketball team traveled to Henry Ford Community College tonight to kick off their season in Region XII action against the Hawks. The Hawks would take advantage of the Lakers after the long trip as Lakeland fell by a final of 130-84. Defensively, the Lakers were strong as they won the battle of steals 13-8 and had 4 fewer turnovers. However, the Hawks connected on 19 3-pointers to distance themselves from the Lakers. 

Adam Williams was the high scorer for the Lakers as he finished with 17 points on 6-8 shooting from the floor. Williams also added a team high 4 steals. Devin Belle finished with 16 points while Ben Hamilton added 9 points by shooting 3-4 from beyond the arc. Brandon Moore recorded 6 points and had a team high 9 rebounds while Kenyon Jones picked up 8 points and 2 steals. Keenan Hughes recorded 8 points while Mekhi Sikes picked up 6 points for Lakeland. David McClain and Eric Cook both chipped in 4 points in the defeat.

Coach T's Talk: "It was a good experience for us as we are young this year. This helps our team gain a better understanding of what we need to do to be successful - the effort, execution, and energy needed to compete. I think as a team we learned from this and we'll get back to work and come out better for it in our next game."

Next Up: The Lakers will host the Jamestown Jayhawks in their home opener on Tuesday (11/5) at Laker Gym. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm.