Lakeland teams secure No. 3 seeds

District tournament winners advance to NJCAA D-II national tournament

The two Lakeland Community College teams share seedings and opponents going into the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II Region XII District Tournament at Ohio Christian University in Circleville.

In the women’s semifinals on March 8, No. 3 seed Lakeland plays No. 2 Edison Community College. Tipoff is 3 p.m.

In the men’s semifinals, also on March 8, No. 3 Lakeland faces No. 2 Edison. Tipoff is 7 p.m.

Lakeland’s teams played their way into the NJCAA regional with strong regular-season performances in the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference.

On the men’s side, the Lakers posted records of 23-6 overall and 12-4 in the OCCAC.

The Lakers are riding a five-game winning streak going into the postseason. They average 86.4 points while getting steady production from freshman guards John Dawson (16.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists), freshman Tyreke Johnson (15.7 points, 5.6 rebounds) and Isaiah Washington (11.1 points).

Sophomore forward Rob Brown averages 13.0 points and a team-high 6.0 rebounds.

LCC men’s coach Terry Bowe’s rotation includes sophomore guard Chandler Pointno (9.6 points) and freshman forward Jonny Bowers (7.0 points, 5.3 rebounds).

Bowe has led the Lakers into this tournament in eight of the last 10 seasons.

“It takes a little luck and a lot of poise and pace to win in the regional,” Bowe said.

Lakeland’s men split with Edison on the regular season, each team winning on its home court. The Chargers finished 25-5 overall and 12-4 in the OCCAC.

The Lakeland women finished 20-9 overall and 12-4 in the OCCAC. It is the first 20-victory season for the Lakers in 10 years.

“It means the young women on this team are buying into where we want to take this program,” LCC coach Ornette Gardenhire said of the 20-win finish in the regular season.

Gardenhire’s rotation includes sophomore guard Delesha Jackson (14.0 points, 5.1 rebounds), freshman guard Destiny Khay (10.0 points), sophomore forward Alicia Sephus (10. 0 points, 10.2 rebounds) and freshman guard Selah Richardson (10.0 points)

In the regular season, the Edison women exactly matched the records of the men’s team - 25-5 overall and 12-6 in the OCCAC.

The women’s teams split during the regular season, each notching a road victory.

Winners advance to the semifinals on March 9.

Regional tournament winners secure bids to the NJCAA Division II national tournaments from March 19 to 23 in Harrison, Ark. (women) and Danville, Ill. (men).