Male hoopsters prevail; improve to 6-2

By Michael Leek
Sports Editor

The LCC men’s basketball team added another game to the win column on Saturday, Dec. 2.

The Stars beat Community Christian Michigan 91-70 in a convincing fashion. This win improves LCC’s record to 6-2 on the season.

Freshman forward Jamison Eklund led the way for the Stars with a 30-point, 11-rebound double-double.

Sophomore guard Jay Wallace contributed 23 points for LCC. Stars’ freshman guard Devan Wilson scored 13 points, knocking down two three-pointers in the second half to start a run.

In the first half, freshman guard Lamont Green-Torbert came off the bench and scored a couple of key buckets to get the team energized and help finish the half strong.

The second half of the game got chippy. Referees’ calls were disputed and players on both teams began to get frustrated. LCC Head Coach Mike Ingram vocally warned the refs to start making calls before both teams got more aggressive, and he was given a technical foul.

“I thought the refs were okay, but sometimes when you get a lead on a team, the other team may start taking some cheap shots and I didn’t think the referees realized what was happening,” Ingram said.

“I told them if you don’t call fouls these guys will start swinging on each other, and that’s why I got the technical. And eventually, they almost did.”

The Stars started the game with a new lineup. After the loss last game, Ingram said he wanted a change.

“We had been playing OK, but we were not playing that well,” Ingram said. “It helped Lamont get his focus back when he came back in. He put it together and played well.”

Ingram said the Stars will be going back to their usual starting lineup for the next game.

“Our two guards get us off to a quicker start at both ends of the court,” Ingram said. “What we decided to do is we're going to start using our guys on the bench more. I’ve got to start trusting them more. The guys can’t play 40 minutes a game against really tough competition.”

The Stars’ next game will be on the road against St. Clair Community College on Wednesday, Dec. 6.