Men's basketball team nipped by Mott

By Michael Leek
Sports Editor

The LCC men’s basketball team lost 86-80 against Mott Community College on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at LCC. This loss dropped the Stars’ record to 5-2.

LCC Head Coach Mike Ingram said the team started off slow but ended up playing pretty well.

“The guys were really zeroed in on what we were doing defensively and offensively,” Ingram said.

Freshman forward Jamison Eklund led the Stars in scoring and finished with a double-double: 24 points and 12 rebounds.

LCC had four players finish in double digits with points. Freshman guard Jay Wallace scored 21 points and freshman forward Zavier Thomason added 15 points. Freshman Lamont Green-Torbert added 10 points for LCC.

Both teams were committing a lot of fouls and Eklund said it was a tough officiated game.

“Too many fouls and a lot of calls going against each other,” Eklund said. “Hopefully our next meeting is a little different.”

The Stars shot free throws at an 81-percent rate during the game. Eklund was sent to the free throw line down the stretch in the fourth quarter and was able to knock down both free throws.

Eklund said he handled the pressure well because he’s been in that situation before.

“Throughout high school, I’ve been there before so it was pretty easy to stay focused,” Eklund said.

Going forward in the season, Ingram said he is going to reduce some players’ minutes and go more to his bench.

“I think we were just tired down the stretch and couldn’t make any plays,” Ingram said.

The Stars next game will be against Community Christian Michigan on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 1 p.m. in the Gannon Building.