CCAC Wildcats Beat Commodores On 3-Pt Basket At The Buzzer

February 10, 2024 - - The Lorain County Community College men's basketball team lost on a last second 3-point shot made by non-conference foe Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) Saturday afternoon after they erased a seven point deficit to tie the game in the final seconds hoping to force overtime.

Top Commodores

Deonte Benejan (Queens, N.Y./Lorain HS) – 32 points (9-19 FG, 12-13 FT), 5 rebounds, 2 assists

Tiyorne Coleman (New York City, N.Y./Bunnell HS) – 22 points, 11 rebounds

Tavion Pride (Cleveland, Ohio/Aurora HS) -  11 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds

Recap

Benejan gave the Commodores (4-21) the lead twice in the opening half.  First he knocked down a jumper to give the Commodores a brief 9-8 lead, then he got fouled cutting through a slew of Wildcat (11-12) defenders to covert the basket, tying the game at 28, and gave LCCC the lead with the ensuing free throw.  Coleman also had double-digit scoring in the first half with 10 but it was Timothy Kikola (Vermilion, Ohio/Vermilion HS) who put the Commodores ahead before the break with a step back jumper just inside the three point line.  Benejan tacked on two more free throws with 2 seconds on the clock and the Commodores went into halftime holding a 37-34 lead.

The momentum continued for the Commodores in the second half as Benejan hit on his first two attempts from the field followed by Coleman who knocked down two free throws to give LCCC their largest lead of the contest, 43-34.  But over the next ten minutes of play the Commodores' lead began to shrink.  The Wildcats broke through with a 12-0 run to tie the game at 51 and held a 5-point edge with 6:32 left to play as CCAC called timeout. 

Following the timeout by the Wildcats, both teams started to get hot from long distance.  Benejan and Coleman each answered a Wildcat 3-pointer with one of their own on the following possession to keep the Commodores in the game.  After Benejan made his second 3-point basket of the game, Corey Jones Jr. (Lorain, Ohio/Clearview HS) connected from downtown and Pride cut the Wildcat lead down to a single basket on the Commodore's next possession.  After a few scoreless chances from both teams, Jones Jr. snagged a rebound off a Wildcat miss and pushed ahead to Benejan who got fouled going to the basket.  He sank both free throws to tie the game with five seconds remaining.

After CCAC advanced the ball past midcourt and called a timeout, the Wildcats' Darrion Mctier, given little room to move by Benejan, received the inbound pass with less than three seconds remaining and heaved a high arching prayer that fell as time expired to give CCAC the win, 75-72.

Notes

• Both teams shot 43% from the field
• CCAC's 75 points scored is the fifth time a team failed to score more than 80 points against the Commodores this season.
• LCCC went 5-for-16 from downtown.  They have hit five or more 3Pt field goals in five of the last seven contests.
• LCCC is 0-2 against the Wildcats this season (First loss came on Nov. 4, 2023, 98-79)
• Benejan delivered his 8^th 30-point game of the season
• Coleman had his third 10+ rebounding effort of the season

Next Up

The Commodores will return home this Wednesday to host the Owens Community College Express inside the Ewing Activities Center Gymnasium.  Tip-off is at 6 p.m.

The game holds postseason implications for both the Commodores and the Express. With the Commodores' 69-59 loss to Owens on December 13, 2023, they must defeat Owens by more than 10 points to get home court advantage in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XII DIII Championship held on February 24, 2024.