Lakeland men aiming to return to winning form

— Lakeland coach Terry Bowe

So far, so good for the Lakeland Community College men’s basketball team.

The Lakers are 5-0 and trending in a positive direction as the consistent program tries to bounce from two straight sub-par seasons

After averaging 21 victories and winning two Ohio Community College Athletic Conference regular-season titles from 2012 to 2016, the Lakers were a combined 17-39 overall and 7-25 in the OCCAC during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.

“We experienced a lot of adversity those two seasons. The goal this year is to get back to winning the way we have here for so long,” said Coach Terry Bowe, who is in his 19th season as the Lakeland men’s head coach.

Leading the way for the Lakers is sophomore forward Rob Brown. The 6-foot-8, 230-pound Cincinnati native transferred to Lakeland this season from Monroe (Mich.) Community College.

Freshman guard-forward Tyreke Johnson (14.4 points, 3.8 rebounds) and freshman guard John Dawson (12.0 points, 4.4 rebounds) are the other double-figure scorers.

Bowe’s rotation features sophomore guard Chandler Fointno (7.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.4 steals), freshman guard-forward Jonny Bowers (9.8 points, 5.8 rebounds), freshman guard Ronald Vann (8.8 points) and freshman guard-forward Allen Sims (Mentor).

Also getting playing time are sophomore forward Christian Austin-Pitts and freshman guards Deven Musselman, Cory Fulton and Danny Dakdou

“We have a size, speed and the willingness to share the basketball,” Bowe said.

“If the players are able to handle adversity as well as prosperity and learn from game to game, this team could do what Lakeland usually does, contend for championships,” Bowe added.

“We experienced a lot of adversity those two seasons. The goal this year is to get back to winning the way we have here for so long.”

Brown