Davison’s breakout game powers No. 1 Stars over Chargers

Rich Schenck
Sports Editor

Freshman reserve Curtis Davison had a game to remember, as his team-high 22 points led the top-ranked LCC men's basketball team (7-1 MCCAA West, 19-2 overall) to an 85-76 over Ancilla College (6-2 MCCAA West, 16-5 overall) Jan. 27 in the Gannon Gym.

"Curt likes to play; Curt wants to play," LCC Head Coach Mike Ingram said. "He's one of our competitors. I was surprised he played as well as he did, but I'm glad he did."

LCC sophomore Jimmy Kodet added a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

After losing their first game since Nov.6 to Muskegon Community College Jan. 25, the Stars started the game against Ancilla by shooting lights-out from beyond the arc.

Led by Davison, the Stars hit three in a row and jumped out to an early 16-4 lead.

"It was really big for us," Ingram said. "I had told the guys 'Hey, we just won 18 games in a row, one of the best streaks in my career and we were going to lose sooner or later.'"

Ingram said he had to do some lineup rearranging due to player illness and injuries.

"I didn't know how the team was going to respond to that," Ingram said. "But they came out and really got after it defensively."

Ancilla's overzealous defense was continually taken advantage of by LCC's perimeter shooting (8 for 17). Davison and Kodet shot 62 percent from three-point range for the night.

"This was a tough game," Davison said. "Coach (Ingram) was preaching to us before the game that this was the biggest game of the year."

At the beginning of the second half both teams' offense went dormant, scoring three total points in the opening minutes.

The Chargers' offense broke through, going on an 8-0 run and forcing Ingram to call a timeout to get his squad out of a lull.

"Keep composure," Davison said. "Basketball is a game of runs and he said that everyone is going to have their runs. Manage the runs. Don't let them go from 10 to 20 (points)."

Ancilla benefitted from three quick LCC fouls late in the second half, coming within four points of the lead. But a key steal from LCC sophomore Brian Morton killed the Chargers' momentum to close out the game.

"The goal is to stay ahead of the pack and we're right there," Ingram said.

LCC was scheduled to travel to seventh-place Jackson College (2-6 MCCAA West, 11-10 overall) Jan. 30. The Stars will return to the Gannon Gym Friday, Feb. 5 to host fourth-place Lake Michigan College (5-3 MCCAA West, 15-6 overall).