Men's Hoops Erases 27-Point First Half Deficit to Down LCC, Moves Record to 8-2

Men's basketball traveled to Lansing to take on the Lansing Community College (LCC) Stars as their final contest before the new year. The Stars came into the game at 8-4, winners of two of their last three games, and possessed a 6-1 record on their home floor coming into the game. 

The Stars came on firing on all cylinders, resulting in a 10-point cusion five minutes into the game. LCC poured it on early, and the Lakers fell into a 53-26 hole with 4:40 to play in the first half. They cut the 27-point deficit down to a 12-point deficit at the half. 

By the 17:39 point in the second half, the Lakers cut the lead into single digits, and by the 14:10 mark the lead was cut to 66-61. 

The second half was back and forth, with the Stars pushing the lead up, and the Lakers cutting the lead back down. Finally, after exchanging leads in the final minute of play, Delon McCloud hit a three-point shot to give the Lakers the lead 98-96 with less than 10 seconds to play.

That shot proved to be the game winner, and the Lakers completed what seemed to be an insurmountable comeback, down by as many as 27 in the first half, to win 98-96.

James Wright led the team in scoring with 21 points, shooting 10-18 from the field. Wright grabbed 7 rebounds. Delon McCloud, who scored 8 points in the final 3 minutes of game play, and hit the game winning three point shot, scored 19 points on 7-15 from the field. McCloud also shot 5-7 from three and grabbed 5 rebounds. Nick Ellis contributed 17 points and 7 rebounds. Ellis shot 8-15 from the field. Devin Watts scored 13 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and dished 4 assists. De'Antre Griffin scored 12 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and had 2 assists and a block.

The comeback victory pushed the Lakers up to 8-2 heading into winter break. They'll return to action on the road at Jackson College on Saturday, January 6th.