No. 13 Lakeland Men Edged by Niagara County in Closing Seconds

By Patrick Gordon/Lakeland Sports Information

Kirtland, OH---Tyler Truesdell's only basket of the day proved to be a crucial one. 

Trailing by one with seven seconds to go, Truesdell stole in the inbounds pass and laid in the game winning layup with five ticks remaining to give visiting Niagara County a 79-77 victory over nationally-ranked Lakeland in non-conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon. 

Lakeland's opportunity to answer at the other end was derailed by a traveling call with two seconds to go, all but ensuring a victory for the Thunderwolves in the Lakers' final game of the fall semester.

Lakeland (7-4) is off for the next three weeks before hosting Lorain County on Tuesday (Dec. 8) at 7:30 p.m.  LCC will enter the holiday break nationally ranked for the second consecutive year.  Last year the Lakers were 12-2 and ranked No. 7 in the country.  

A back and forth game throughout, Lakeland appeared to have the game in control in the final minute when Daishon Robinson converted a pair of free throws to give the hosts a three point lead (77-74) with less than 30 seconds to go.  

On the ensuing possession, Kushan Hunter corralled an offensive rebound - one of 17 on the day for Niagara County – and made no mistake with the put back to trim the deficit to just one.  After Truesdell's steal and score, Lakeland was left with five seconds to go the length of the court with a chance to reclaim the lead.

Daishon Robinson dribbled down the right wing and was met near the paint by the Thunderwolves defense, which forced a turnover with a second to go.  Jon Marsh sealed the win with a free throw before missing the second on purpose as the clock hit zero.  

The Lakers appeared to be well on their way to avenging an earlier loss to Niagara County when they took a 39-31 lead into the break.  But the Thunderwolves closed the gap in a hurry and took the lead themselves just five minutes into the second half after Ethan Baker's three-pointer gave the visitors a 45-43 advantage.

Neither team led by more than six points through the rest of the game, with both sides trading baskets down the stretch.

Marcus Fleming scored eight of his 13 points in the second half while tying a career-high with five assists.  Deran Banton added ten points, three steals, and a career-high six assists in the setback while sophomore guard Charles Oliver chipped in 12 points and four steals in 25 minutes of action.

Robinson and Chaz Rollins combined for 24 points off the bench for the Lakers, who lost their fourth game by single digits this season.