Men's b-ball squad nipped at buzzer

By Michael Leek
Sports Editor

LCC freshman guard Devan Wilson took a deep three-point shot with two seconds left, missing it off the backboard as the LCC men’s basketball team lost 80-77 to Marian University on Saturday, Jan. 20 at LCC.

This loss moved the Stars’ record to 0-2 in conference play and to 9-7 overall.

LCC sophomore guard Jay Wallace led both teams with 25 points. He shot 56 percent from the field. Stars freshman forward Jamison Eklund had 23 points, including three three-pointers.

Freshman forward Zavier Thomason also had an impactful game for LCC. He finished with a double-double: 10 points and 10 rebounds.

In their last game against Kalamazoo Valley Community College, the Stars gave up 117 points. LCC Head Coach Mike Ingram said they will not win games giving up that many points.

In this game against the Chargers, the Stars only gave up 80, but Ingram said it was not because of improved defense.

“That team really did not play that fast,” Ingram said. “We still did not get stops and play good defense when we needed to.”

LCC freshman Jamison Eklund goes high for a layup vs. Marian University.  Photo by Kaitlyn Delaney

Usually after a game, Ingram said he does not go back into the locker room with the players to give them a message, but he did after this game.

“It wasn’t a great message; it was just a message of, ‘You guys have to start finishing games, that’s the bottom line,’” Ingram said. “We haven’t done that, and (I was) just pointing some things out, like shot selection and defense.”

Ingram said he needs to do a better job of protecting his players when it comes to their strengths and weaknesses. Freshman guard Terrell White, a good three-point shooter, had a rough night from deep, but Ingram said he needs to do a better job of getting him help defense when he’s on the court.

“Once (Terrell) gets in the game, guys just go at him individually, so our guys need to do a better job of realizing when he’s on the court and (give him) a little more help-side (defense),” Ingram said.

The Stars’ next game is on the road against Lake Michigan College on Wednesday, Jan. 24.

Ingram said he will look to change the starting lineup a bit to get back to winning games.

LCC’s next home game will be this Saturday, Jan. 27, against Southwestern Michigan.