Lakeland Knocks Off Nationally-Ranked Cincinnati State in OCCAC Opener

By Patrick Gordon/Lakeland Sports Information

Kirtland, OH---Charles Oliver poured in 22 points, Richard Smith added a double-double, and the Lakeland men's basketball team upset No. 13 Cincinnati State 80-79 in the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon. 

The Lakers (10-4 overall) begin conference play with a victory over the Surge for the second straight season and will travel to Columbus State (12-4, 1-0) on Wednesday (Jan. 16) evening.

Oliver led all scorers with 22 points including 11 of Lakeland's first 15 to give the hosts a five point lead in the early stages of the first half.  Deran Banton added 21 points while Smith scored 13 to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds.  The sophomore forward also tied a career high with four assists.

Daishon Robinson provided a spark off the bench, making his first four shots including three from beyond the arc.  Robinson finished with 14 points on five of eight shooting from the floor.  Classmate Martell Medley tied a career high with eight assists for Lakeland.

Devonte Smith and O'Brien Hobbs led the Surge with 18 and 15 points, respectively, off the bench.

The Lakers took a 46-41 lead into the locker room and never trailed in the second half, though the Surge made a late push and had an opportunity to escape with a win in the closing seconds.  With Lakeland ahead by one and two seconds remaining, Robinson missed a pair of free throws to give the ball back to Cincinnati State.  Kevin Marshall corralled the rebound  after the second miss but was unable to control it enough to get off a full court shot as time expired.

Lakeland returns to action at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday and will look to avenge a pair of regular season losses to the Cougars last year.  The two teams met three times last year, with Lakeland pulling off the biggest win of all – a 76-68 victory in the semifinals of the District 10 Tournament.  The Lakers would go on to win the championship and advance to the NJCAA Division II National Tournament for the second straight season.

Notes

- Richard Smith finished the game with five blocks, moving his season average to 4.4 blocks per game.  He currently ranks fourth in the nation in that category.

- Lakeland and Cincinnati have split the regular season series in each of the last three seasons.

- The Lakers assisted on 83.3% of their made field goals (25 of 30) on the afternoon.  It was the highest assist percentage of the season for LCC.