The Lakers hosted the Cuyahoga Triceratops in OCCAC play tonight and dropped a 91-90 double overtime thriller. Lakeland had a tough start as they committed 3 unforced turnovers to start the game to put themselves in a quick 10-2 hole. Lakeland was able to regroup though and slowly chipped away before finally tying the game at 17 after a Devin Belle 3-pointer with just under 10 minutes to play in the half. The Lakers were then keyed by a Ben Hamilton offensive rebound and basket combined with a 3-pointer to give the Lakers a 30-24 lead with 6 minutes to play. The teams then traded baskets before the Lakers committed a couple of turnovers allowing the Triceratops to take advantage and send the teams into the break knotted at 36.
In the second half, the teams continued to trade baskets until Adam Williams hit Ben Hamilton in the corner for a 3-pointer giving the Lakers a 53-51 lead. Tri-C would then miss a shot and Devin Belle would score on a layup. Lakeland would then steal the ball and Aaron Ward scored to put the Lakers up 57-51 with 10:43 to play. The teams would continue to trade baskets over the next several minutes until Brandon Moore scored on a thunderous dunk giving the Lakers a 10 point 71-61 advantage. Lakeland was then whistled for a tech and Tri-C connected on 1-2 free throws. Cuyahoga would then score baskets while the Lakers would only hit 1-2 free throws on consecutive possessions as the Lakers lead was trimmed to 73-66 with 1:33 to play. Lakeland was then called for an offensive foul and Tri-C hit a 3-pointer to bring them closer at 73-69 with 45 seconds to play. Lakeland was fouled again and missed the front end of a 1 and 1 before Tri-C scored again. On Lakeland's next possession, they were fouled and then again missed the front end of a 1 and 1. Tri-C had the ball for the last posession and missed the defended shot; however, the rebound went right to a Tri-C player who threw up an off balance shot while falling down with less than a second remaining. On the play, Lakeland was whistled for another foul and Cuyahoga converted both free throws to tie the game.
In the first overtime, the teams traded baskets until the Lakers were called for a 30-second violation and later fouled. This series allowed Tri-C to gain an 81-77 advantage with 24.1 seconds to play. Aaron Ward later scored on a layup to make the score 81-79. Tri-C then inbounded the ball and the Lakers trapped. A jump ball was finally called and Lakeland had regained possession with 10.9 seconds to play. Brandon Moore would then connect on a driving layup to tie the score at 81 and force a second overtime.
In the second overtime, the teams would again trade baskets early until Kaleb Wanamaker hit a 3-pointer in the corner giving the Lakers an 86-85 lead. Tri-C would miss it's next shot and Aaron Ward grabbed a big rebound and fed a released Amarion Glenn. As Glenn drive to the basket, he drew the defender and fed Eric Cook for a left-handd layup and an 88-85 Laker lead. Cuyahoga answered right back though connecting on a clutch 3-pointer to tie the score at 88. Later, Lakeland would miss a shot and then committ a foul. Tri-C connected on 1-2 free throws to take an 89-88 lead. The Lakers then played high pressure defense and Amarion Glenn would steal the ball and make a layup to give the Lakers a 90-89 lead with 20 seconds to play. Om the next play for Tri-C, the Lakers were whistled for a blocking call at mid-court as the Cuyahoga player was moving east to west and falling down. Tri-C connected on both free throws and held a 91-90 lead with 6.8 seconds to play. Following a Laker timeout, they inbounded the ball to Aaron Ward who was driving to the basket. As the Tri-C defender was sliding over there was contact and the Lakers were called for a charge to close out the game.
Lakeland had 4 different players finish in double figures. Devin Belle recorded 21 points while both Brandon Moore and Aaron Ward each finished with 20 points. Ben Hamilton picked up 12 points while Eric Cook added 6 points. Kaleb Wanamaker recorded 5 points while Amarion Glenn chipped in 4 points for the Lakers.
Overall, this was a very good game that either team could have won. The teams were evenly matched tonight and they will get to go at it again next Wednesday (2/5) at the Tri-C Metro Campus. Game time is 7:00 pm.
AC Christian's Corner: "We played hard but just made enough mistakes to fall short. We had some communication errors that we will need to cleanup. Tri-C played a solid game and so credit them for their effort tonight."
Next Up: The Lakers will face a tough non-league foe on Saturday (2/1) when they travel to Monroe CC to play the Tribunes in a 3:00 pm tip.
