Commodores Nearly Nip No. 11 Lakeland CC, Fall in OT 94-90

January 10, 2024 - - The Lorain County Community College men's basketball team battled No. 11 Lakeland Community College and had a chance to defeat the Lakers in regulation but Deonte Benejan's contested layup didn't fall and the Commodores came up short in overtime, 94-90.

Top Commodores

Deonte Benejan (Queens, N.Y./Lorain HS) – 37 points (15-for-16 FT), 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks

Tavion Pride (Cleveland, Ohio/Huron HS) -  27 points (3-for-4 3PT), 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, 3 blocks

Jayden Maxwell (Chicago, Ill./Buchtel CLC) – 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal

Corey Jones, Jr. (Lorain, Ohio/Clearview HS) – 9 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals

Complete Box Score

Recap

The Commodores found themselves ahead of the NJCAA DII ranked Lakers 40-35 with 85 seconds left in the first half.  Corey Jones Jr. gave the Commodores the lead with 3:25 left on a 3-point shot in transition after he and Tavion Pride's pressure defense delivered a steal for LCCC.  Lakeland scored 5 straight points to close out the half tied with LCCC, 40-40.

That momentum didn't carry over for the Lakers as the Commodores scored the first seven points of the half, on their way to a 13 point advantage, their largest lead of the game with 12:58 remaining.  As the game wore on the Commodores showed resilience despite working with a 7-player rotation to Lakeland's deep bench, who outscored LCCC 39-11.

Lakeland took the lead with just over 7 minutes to play with a fast break layup after a Commodore turnover.  Abdulaziz Sesay (Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa/Limount College) calmly hit two free throws to get LCCC to within one point with 90 seconds left in regulation.  Benejan gave LCCC the lead with two made free throws on the next possession.  Both teams traded turnovers in the final minute before Benejan's game winning attempt in the final seconds didn't fall.

In overtime, the Lakers and Commodores traded baskets down the stretch with neither team gaining more than a one possession advantage.  Benejan made an acrobatic shot to tie the game at 88 and then fed Tiyorne Coleman (New York City, N.Y.) on the next possession when the Lakeland defenders converged.  Lakeland got a basket to take the lead for good a few seconds later and then hit two free throws to seal the win.

Notes

• Both teams shot 44% from the field
• Commodores scored 90 points for the 10^th time this season (3-7)
• The teams tied 13 times and the lead changed 10 times
• Lakeland's largest lead 7, LCCC 13

Next Up

LCCC hosts Community Christian College on Saturday at 1 p.m. inside the Ewing Activities Center Gymnasium.  LCCC lost to Community Christian on November 25, 2023, 105-90 in Detroit.