Commodores Come Up Short Against Bryant & Stratton In OCCAC Opener

November 29, 2023 - - The Lorain County Community College men's basketball team fell to the Bryant & Stratton Bobcats Wednesday evening, 101-91, in their first game of Ohio Community College Athletic Conference play.  Bryant & Stratton (1-5, 1-0) picked up their first win of the season, snapping a five game losing streak.  LCCC falls to 2-6 on the season.

Top Commodores

Deonte Benejan (Queens, N.Y./Lorain HS) – 28 points (8-9 FG, 11-12 FT), 1 assist, 2 steals

Willie Powell Jr. (Cleveland, Ohio/Bedford HS) – 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals

Jayden Maxwell (Chicago, Ill./Buchtel CLC) – 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block

Patrick Russell (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius HS) – 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, 1 block

Austin Copen (Amherst, Ohio/Firelands HS) – 10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assists, 1 steal

Recap

The Bobcats got on the board first and held the early lead until Patrick Russell's put back got the Commodores out front 13-12.  Two straight fast break buckets by Jayden Maxwell extended the lead to 17-12 and forced a timeout from Bryant & Stratton.  The lead wouldn't last as the Bobcats used a 6-0 run to get back in the contest and both teams battled until BSC used the final five minutes of the first half to build a 12-point lead.

Austin Copen drained a three ball in the corner to get the Bobcats' lead back to single digits after halftime.  From there, the Commodores turned on the jets and started getting contributions from everyone.  On the next possession, Russell hit a three.  Two possessions later Willie Powell got a layup inside for a basket and then Tiyorne Coleman (New York City, N.Y./Bunnell HS) got a second chance bucket to keep LCCC in the game.  With nine minutes left and the Commodores trailing by one, Jamair Blackmon (Akron, Ohio/Barberton HS) cut into the paint to give the Commodores the lead, 70-69.

But that would be the all the Commodores could muster even with Deonte Benejan's stellar second half performance where the freshman couldn't miss.  He scored 21 points on 6-for-6 shooting from the field and went 8-for-8 from the free throw line. But as great as he was on the floor, the Commodores defense just couldn't stops when it needed down the stretch as the Bobcats took control in the final minutes.

Notes

• Jamair Blackmon scored 8 points against his former team Wednesday night and dropped 7 assists.  Blackmon appeared in 10 games for the Bryant & Stratton Bobcats during the 2022-23 season.  His season-high in points (10) came against the Commodores on January 25, 2023.
• OCCAC Player of the Week Willie Powell Jr. came into tonight's contest after scoring 27 against Westmoreland County CC and 32 points in a loss to Community Christian College last week. Wednesday night the freshman was stuck in foul trouble and played limited minutes.
• The Commodores shot a season best 55% from the field but went 19-30 from the foul line.

Next Up

The Commodores will take on the Edison State Community College Chargers this Saturday inside the Ewing Activities Center Gymnasium at 1 p.m.  LCCC lost both games to the Chargers last season by a combined total of 11 points.