No. 9 Lansing denies late comeback bid to top Mott CC

Rich Schenck
Sports Editor

The LCC men's basketball team (4-1 overall) returned home to the Gannon Gym Nov. 18, narrowly taking down rival Mott Community College, 84-81.

"It was a great team effort," LCC sophomore Jimmy Kodet said. "Hard work on defense; we locked down and had some fun with it."

LCC shot 54.7 percent (29 of 53) from the field and was a solid 38.5 percent (5 of 13) from three-point range. But the Stars made a pedestrian 65.6 percent (21-32) from the charity stripe.

The Stars are off to a fast start offensively in 2015, averaging 103 points per game and hitting 10 shots from three-point range, good for seventh in the nation.

Mott CC came out quickly, forcing LCC into early turnovers. This left the Stars facing a 9-2 deficit.

"We're not going to take any opponents easy," Kodet said. "These guys work hard. We have to give them a lot of respect. It was a hard fought game, as you can see by the score."

LCC's defense clamped down, contesting every shot attempt by Mott. The Stars extended their lead to 32-22 with a little less than seven minutes to go in the half.

A few turnovers on the baseline and a fall-away three-point shot by Mott left LCC with a 43-39 lead at halftime.

LCC came out lethargic to start the second half and Mott tied the game at 46, prompting LCC Head Coach Mike Ingram to call a timeout.

"We came out flat," Kodet said. "But Coach (Mike) Ingram really gets on us pretty quick about it and we step up right away."

The second half got harder when sophomore leaders Javon Haines got into foul trouble and a bloodied Brian Morton had to leave the game after gashing his head in a scary collision under the basket.

"I think a positive is that they can play without Javon," Ingram said. "Other guys had to step up; Mott is a little better than I thought."

In an act of desperation, Mott applied full-court pressure to LCC and trimmed the Stars' lead to 83-79. LCC sophomore Mike Johnson took a pivotal charge with 53.4 second left, sealing the game for the Stars.

"I just try to have my team prepared as best I can," Ingram said. "I thought I had them prepared for the press break, but when one of your main guys is out of there, it hurts a little bit."

Freshmen Isiah Green led LCC in scoring with 24 points and Curtis Davidson came off the bench and chipped in eight points.

But the real star of the night was Kodet, who finished with a double-double (19 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks) in the victory.

"They are tough guys on the front line," Ingram said. "They played really well, 10 to 12 minutes straight against a high caliber team."

LCC was scheduled to host Cuyahoga CC Nov. 20 and then was scheduled for a three-game road trip, starting with the Muskegon Classic Nov.27-28 and ending Nov. 30 against Delta College.