Commodores Hold On To Defeat Region XII Rival Owens At Home, 86-83

February 14, 2024 - - The Lorain County Community College men's basketball team picked up a much needed win against the Owens Community College Express at home on Wednesday, 86-83.  A back and forth affair that saw the lead change 14 times, LCCC denied the Express at the buzzer thanks to a Tiyorne Coleman block on Owens 3-point attempt to secure the win.

Top Commodores

Deonte Benejan (Queens, N.Y./Lorain HS) – 28 points, 7 rebounds

Jayden Maxwell (Chicago, Ill./Buchtel CLC) – 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists

Tavion Pride (Cleveland, Ohio/Aurora HS) -  18 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

Tiyorne Coleman (New York City, N.Y./Bunnell HS) – 10 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

Corey Jones Jr. (Lorain, Ohio/Clearview HS) – 10 points, 4 rebounds

Recap

LCCC (5-21, 2-12) started the game on an 8-0 run to put the Express (7-16, 5-10) in a hole early on in the contest. Benejan put 14 points on the board and the Tavion Pride also got double-digit scoring in the first half with 10 points and 7 rebounds.  LCCC's largest led of the game came at the 6 minute mark of the first half when they led the Express 37-28 after a Pride layup.  The Commodores held off a charging Owens to take a two point lead into the half, 44-42.

LCCC held the lead for most of the second half until the Express finally broke through with a 3-point basket to take a 69-68 lead with five minutes left in the game.  After Benejan got the Commodores back on top with two free throws, Jayden Maxwell rebounded a missed 3-point attempt by Corey Jones Jr. and muscled his way through two Owens defenders for the basket despite getting fouled.  He sank the ensuing free throw to give the Commodores a four point lead with three and a half to play.

Jones Jr. fouled out in the final minute of the game but not before he came up with a crucial layup to keep the Commodore lead at two possessions.  After the Express cut the Commodores' lead to two points after a three pointer, Benejan dribbled up the side line when he was converged on by two Express defenders.  As he leapt out of bounds to avoid turning the ball over, he found Maxwell who then rifled a pass to Jones Jr. who was left unguarded by Owens under the basket for the easy layup.

Two Express free throws cut the lead back down to a single basket with 22 seconds left. Owens fouled Maxwell on the next possession to send him to the line where he split a pair of free throws.  Owens desperation three was blocked by Coleman and the Commodores sealed the win.

Notes

• LCCC shot 43%, Owens shot 39%
• Five Commodores scored in double figures (Benejan – 28, Pride – 18, Maxwell – 18, Coleman – 10, and Jones Jr. – 10)
• Jones Jr. had his second double-digit scoring game for LCCC this season (10 vs. Mia-Hamilton on Jan. 31)
• Pride notched his third double-double of the season, his 13 rebounds are a career-high
• Deonte Benejan scored 20+ points for the 20^th time this season, he currently is second in the NJCAA Division III with 27.3 points scored per game and 601 total point scored.
• Coleman's 10 point, 11 rebound performance is his third double-double of the season
• Maxwell had his 22^nd game of 10+ points for the Commodores

Region XII Championship Is Set

With the conclusion of Wednesday's game, the NJCAA Region XII DIII Championship match will be held in Perrysburg, Ohio on the campus of Owens Community College on February 24, 2024. Time for the game has not been determined at this time.  Owens secured home court with a 10-point victory over the Commodores on December 13, 2023 trumping the 3-point win by LCCC on Wednesday.

The winner of that contest will host the NJCAA DIII District Final on March 2, 2024 with a chance to make it to the NJCAA National Championships held in Herkimer, N.Y. held on March 12-16, 2024.

LCCC defeated the Express in last year's Regional Championship 79-66 inside the Ewing Activities Center Gymnasium on February 22, 2023.

Next Up

The Commodores travel to Nelsonville, Ohio this Saturday with a rematch against the Hocking College Hawks.  LCCC lost to Hocking 115-87 on February 3, 2024.