Commodores Fall To Owens Express In Region 12 Championship

February 19, 2025 - - Despite three players scoring over 20 points, the Lorain County Community College men's basketball team fell to the Owens Community College Express on Wednesday, 104-89, in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Region 12 Championship.

The Commodores (2-28) kept things close for most of the game, cutting the Express' (13-15) lead to as little as two points in the second half. However, a late surge by Owens halted any chance of a Commodore comeback on the road.

Things started off bumpy for LCCC, as they fell behind 11-2 in the first four minutes but slowly chipped away at the deficit. An 11-5 run got the Commodores back in the game, thanks to three-pointers from Rashaud Finley (Cleveland, Ohio/Bard HS) and Dennis Pettis Jr. (Lorain, Ohio/Lorain HS), who were pivotal in the comeback effort.

Pettis hit two from long range, and Finley scored five points to keep the Commodores in the contest. Finley capped off the run by feeding Deonte Benejan (Queens, N.Y./Lorain HS) with a cross-court pass, bringing LCCC within one point at 29-28 and prompting Owens to call a timeout.

Owens appeared poised to take a double-digit lead into halftime when they led by nine with less than a minute remaining. However, Anthony Atkins (Cleveland, Ohio/Valley Forge HS) fueled a 6-0 run by assisting on two three-point plays in the final 30 seconds.

First, he found Julius Moon (Lorain, Ohio/Open Door Christian HS) on a drive-and-kick to the wing for a three-pointer. Then, he stole the ball on the next possession, dribbled the length of the floor, and dished to Benejan, who was fouled on a made basket with 3.1 seconds left. Benejan converted the three-point play, cutting the Commodores' deficit to three at 43-40 heading into the locker room. It capped off an impressive 15-point first-half performance by the sophomore, who would go on to finish with 26 points in his final game in a Commodore uniform before fouling out with 2:33 left in the contest.

Benejan came out hot in the second half, hitting his first two shots for four quick points to keep LCCC within striking distance. Finley later hit a three-pointer to trim the lead to two points at the 15-minute mark, but that was as close as the Commodores would get.

Owens pushed the lead to double digits a few minutes later and held off every Commodore surge in the second half. Whenever LCCC managed to hit a big shot to bring the deficit back to single digits, Owens responded on the other end, ultimately securing the victory.

Finley closed out his college basketball career with a strong offensive performance, scoring a team-high 29 points on an efficient 10-for-16 from the field and 4-for-8 from beyond the arc. He also shot 5-for-7 from the free-throw line and added 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.

Pettis Jr. finished with 23 points on 8-for-15 shooting, including 4-for-9 from three-point range, while also contributing 3 assists and 2 rebounds.