Men's Hoops Goes 1-1 in Danville Area CC Classic
Men's basketball received an invite from Danville Area Community College to attend their annual season kickoff tournament. Danville Area CC has a deep history, having hosted the NJCAA National Championship for men's basketball since 1994. The Jaguars have consistently been a highly ranked program for 30+ seasons. The season opening tournament would present a pair of tough opponents for the Lakers, which Coach Kaleb House welcomed gladly.
The Lakers opened their season playing the host Danville Area Jaguars. A year ago, the Jaguars finished 18-12, advancing to the second round of their regional tournament. Both teams traded baskets the first 5:30 of the game, resulting in an early 10-7 lead for Danville. From there, the Jaguars went on a 18-8 run in the next five minutes to push the lead to 13. The Lakers did their best to claw their way back into the game, but couldn't cut the deficit inside double digits, resulting in a 46-34 Jaguars lead going into halftime. Danville led by as many as 20 in the second half, but a late surge from the Lakers cut the lead to 9 points. The host Jaguars knocked off the Lakers 77-68 to open the season on day one of the invitational event. Despite the loss, there were positives to note from the Lakers performance. James Wright led the team in scoring, notching a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds. De'Antre Griffin hit three triples en route to a 15 point and 5 rebound performance. Off the bench, Jaden Clark scored 11 points, knocking down three triples of his own. As a team, they only turned the ball over 10 times. If the Lakers can continue to take care of the ball, once the shots begin to fall, this team can get rolling.
They'd shift their focus to day two, where they'd take on the Illinois Central College Cougars. A year ago, the Cougars finished 19-12, advancing to the second round of their region tournament. The Lakers started the game out hot, holding a 47-32 advantage heading into halftime. Despite a strong second half Cougar comeback, the Lakers held them off en route to a 81-79 win, earning their first win of the season, moving their record to 1-1. James Wright once again led the team in scoring with an efficient 9-16 shooting performance, good for 24 points. Wright also pulled down 8 rebounds, nabbed a pair of steals, and a block. Jayden Hardiman was an efficient 6-6 from the field, scoring 15 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. De'Antre Griffin and Joe Iung each added 12 points and 5 rebounds. Jordan Chandler rounded out the double digit scoring for the Lakers with 11 points on an efficient 4-5 shooting.
The Lakers return to their home court with a 1-1 record, when they play host to the Aquinas College Saints (JV) on Tuesday, November 5th at 7:30 PM.