Lakeland men visit Tri-C for showdown

Wallace's number to be retired by school

First place in the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference is on the line Feb. 15 when Lakeland Community College visits Cuyahoga Community College in a men’s basketball showdown.

The teams are Nos. 1 and No. 2 in the OCCAC. Lakeland is 19-4, 11-1 in the OCCAC. The Tri-C Triceratops are 22-4, 10-2.

Lakeland is also ranked 12th among all NJCAA Division II men’s college programs. A veteran program, the Lakers finished fifth in the nation in NJCAA D-II with a 26-2 record last season, best in the school’s history.

Their postseason loss came to eventual national champion South Suburban.

The game will also feature an appearance by Hall of Famer Ben Wallace, who will have his number retired by Tri-C.

Lakeland’s floor leader and one of the NJCAA’s top scorers is sophomore Jaidon Lipscomb, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard/point guard who is averaging 23.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

“They have one of the nation’s most efficient scorers in Lipscomb,” Tri-C coach Aaron Nixon said.

Other top players for Lakeland include freshman 6-7 forward Elhadji Thiam (16.4 points, 8.2 rebounds) and sophomore point guard Landon Tillman (13.3 points, 6.4 rebounds).

Lakeland averages 80.8 points per game and is shooting 49.5% from the field for the season. TriC averages 88 points per game.

Tri-C enters the contest with an eight-game winning streak. Its last loss was to Lakeland, 97-59, on Jan. 18, so the revenge factor will be in the Triceratops’ favor. Tri-C is also unbeaten at home.

Devin Haid, a 6-5 wing freshman, leads the Triceratops in scoring (19.6 points) and is averaging 6.8 rebounds.

Lakeland coach Terrell Eskridge knows beating Tri-C a second time will be a challenge.

“We will have to play defense and match their energy,” he said. “It’s hard to beat a team twice, so I know their coach will have them well-prepared. Tri-C is a well-coached team that plays extremely hard. Every time we step on the court, we need to put out our best effort.”

Wallace, a defensive star who had his best years with the Pistons and played two seasons with the Cavaliers, will have his No. 4 jersey retired at halftime. Wallace played for two years at Tri-C.

With Detroit, he won an NBA championship, was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year four times, and was a multitime All Star. He’s considered one of the greatest undrafted players in NBA history. Wallace was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.

“For me, Ben Wallace means a lot. He was one of the guys I looked up to when I was younger,” Nixon said.

“Watching how he took challenges, played hard, and outworked his opponents stood out to me. He was just an ultra competitor.”