The Lakeland men's basketbll team played host to the Oakland Owls and suffered an 81-80 defeat to the Owls. This game was a tale of two halves as the Lakers came out sluggish defensively in the first half. The teams traded baskets early before Lakeland went cold from the field. The Owls used this to their advantage as they steadily built their lead as the half wore on. The Lakers would go into the break trailing 42-31.
In the second half, Oakland started with an immediate score. After an Isaiah McAdams 3-pointer cut the lead to 10 at 44-34, the Owls would take advantage of Lakeland fouls and eventually grow their lead to 52-36. The Lakers then began to turn up their defense and from there, the offense flowed. The Lakers also started to hit the boards in the offensive end to create additional scoring oportunities. On Lakeland's next play, they had 3 offensive rebounds before Micah Blackmon finally grabbed one and scored a layup to make the score 52-38. Following an Oakland miss, McAdams drove the lane and kicked the ball to Jadallah Suleiman for a 3-pointer. Following an Oakland basket, Juwan Turner fed Suleiman on an inbounds play for another 3-pointer to bring the Lakers within 10 at 54-44. On the next play, Chauncey Brashers stole the ball and fed Juwan Turner for a layup.
Oakland would then take advantage of Lakeland missed shots to grow their lead back to 14 at 60-46. Lakeland would battle back. On the next possession, Brashers would feed Isaiah McAdams for a 3-pointer to make the score 60-49. The teams would trade scores until Jadallah Suleiman drove the lane and converted a layup to bring the Lakers within 7, 65-58, with 10 minutes to play. On the next posession, the Owls would turn the ball over and the Lakers would take advantage. On the play, Suleiman would drive the lane and kick to McAdams. McAdams would wheel the ball to Marlon Landingham who connected for three to make the score 65-61. Oakland followed by scoring a basket before both teams missed shots. On the Owls miss, the Lakers grabbed the rebound and fed a sprinting Isaiah McAdams for a thunderous dunk. Oakland then answered with a 3-pointer before the Lakers missed and fouled on their next possession. Oakland hit them both and the 4 point game was now suddenly back to 9, 72-63 with under 8 minutes to play. During Lakeland's next possession, Chauncey Brashers was fouled and connected on 1-2 free throws. The Owls then scored again and the Lakers were down 10, 74-64 with under 6 to play.
The Laker's were not done fighting. During Lakeland's next possession, Marlon Landingham drove the land and dished to Micah Blackmon who scored a layup. The Owl's would hit two more free throws before Jadallah Suleiman hit another driving layup to make the score 76-68. Oakland would score again and this time Chauncey Brashers answered with a turn-around 6' jumper in the paint to make the score 78-70. Following an Oakland miss, McAdams would get fouled and sink 1-2 free throws to make it 78-71. The Owls would miss again under pressure and this time the Lakers McAdams drove the lane and kicked it to Juwan Turner who drained the 3-pointer to make the score 78-74. The Lakers would again play good defense and force a tough shot miss by the Owls. On the Lakers next possession, Micah Blackmon was fed the ball down low. Blackmon would make a series of pivot moves before spinning and scoring to bring the Lakers within two at 78-76 with under 3:09 to play. The Lakers would continue with the high pressure defense and force a travel by the Owls. On the Lakers next play, Jadallah Suleiman drove the lane and scored a layup to tie the game at 78. The Owls would then score to take a 80-78 lead before both teams missed on their next possessions. On Lakeland's next possession, Suleiman responded again with a drive to the basket and a layup to tie the score again at 80. After a Laker foul, the Owls would hit 1-2 free throws to take an 81-80 lead with 1:29 to play. Both teams would then miss shots before the Lakers had one more great defensive effort forcing a shot clock violation. Lakeland regained possession of the ball with 28 seconds to play. On Lakeland's final offensive possesion, they again drove the lane where bodies from both teams converged on the play. Unfortunately for the Lakers, the ball rattled out thus ending the comeback bid.
Lakeland had 4 players score in double digits. Jadallah Sulieman led the way with 23 points while Isaiah McAdams finished with 14 points. Micah Blackmon scored 13 points while Marlon Landingham recorded 12 points for the Lakers. Alikai Creque picked up 6 points while both Chauncey Brashers and Juwan Turner chipped in 5 points in the Laker defeat.
Lakeland would shoot just 6-12 from the line while the Owls shot 14-17.
Coach T's Talk: "That was a tough first half for us - just didn't play well/. We're very young and are learning. I was pleased with the effort in the second half - much better defensive effort. We've got to figure out how to play a consistent 40 minute game. We'll keep working - we have another tough test Tuesday night."
Next Up: On Tuesday (11/11), the Lakers will travel to Erie Community College to face the Kats in non-league play. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 pm.
