Commodores' Season Ends in Loss at Regional Championship Game

February 25, 2019 - - The momentum of a come from behind victory yesterday in the Region XII Division III semi-final game was not enough to carry the Lorain County Community College Men's Basketball team to a Championship today, as they lost to top-seeded Columbus State Community College 68-60.

LCCC got off to a slow start as the Cougars went on an 8-0 run in the game before the Commodores finally got a bucket at the 15:44 mark. The scoring drought continued for Lorain and they were down 30-13 with less than 4 minutes remaining in the half. Lorain came to life in the final few minutes and rattled off 13 points to close the gap to 36-26 at the break.

The Cougars took charge in the second half and extended their lead to 52-37, as the Commodores were down one starter…losing Ny'Jere Hodges (Wilmington, DE/Mount Pleasant) in the first half to a dislocated finger. LCCC regrouped and went on a run to cut the lead to 5 with just under 9 minutes to play. Columbus State went back up by 10, but the Commodores stayed in contention and again closed the gap to 65-60 with 1:33 remaining on the clock.

The Commodores had several opportunities to come back in the game, but an uncharacteristically poor shooting night ultimately did them in, as they shot only 29.4% from the field and 19.4% from 3-point range.

Lorain Head Coach, Marty Eggleston, said after the game "I'm very proud of this team…we've learned some powerful lessons this year as basketball players and men."

Jovon Jones (Elyria/F.B.C.S.) had another double-double with 11 points and 11 boards, while Justin Newman (Cincinnati/Robert A. Taft) led the Commodores in scoring with 20 on the night. Jacob Marsh (Elyria) provided a spark for Lorain in the second half, hitting 3 of 7 from the 3-point range for 9 points.

LCCC wraps up the season with a 14-17 record, after going 9-0 to start the year.