Nelsonville,OH -- The Hocking College men’s basketball team (6-2, 0-1 OCCAC) suffered its first Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) loss to Lakeland CC (4-4,1-0 OCCAC) on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 23.
In the opening half, Lakeland sprinted out to a 12-point lead but the Hawks came all the way back to take the lead at 30-27 with 6:10 to play in the first half. The score remained close until halftime when the Lakers took a 44-42 lead into the break. In the second half, the Hawks took their final lead, 47-45, minutes into the second half. Lakeland led most of the second half until Hocking tied the game at 86 with 20 seconds to play. Lakeland converted 4-of-4 free-throws in the final 17 seconds to win it.
Hocking had four players score in double figures and was led by freshman guard Miekuann Knight who scored a team-high 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, with one three- pointer, and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. He grabbed five rebounds, handed out an assist and recorded two steals. Sophomore forward Donovan Saine contributed 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting with two three-pointers, and went 1-of-2 from the free throw line. He snatched seven rebounds, three steals and an assist. Freshman forward Shawn Paris Jr. recorded his second double-double of the season when he scored 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting with three three-pointers and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, an assist and a steal.
As a team, Hocking shot 33-of-69 (47.8%), was 7-of-15 (46.7%) from three-point land, and 15-of-21 (71.4%) from the foul line. The Hawks outrebounded the Lakers, 38-33, but were whistled for 29 fouls leading to 32 points on 45 free throws for the Lakers.
Lakeland was led by Jordan McMillian who scored a game-high 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting with two three-pointers and connected on 5-of-7 from the free-throw line. He added two rebounds and two steals. Keith Germain scored 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting and made 4-of-5 from the free throw line. He recorded 10 rebounds and two steals, with a block.
Hocking is now listed in the Top Ten of five statistical categories in the NJCAA Division III. The Hawks are averaging 100 ppg, which ranks them third in the nation among the 105 teams in NJCAA D-III. The Hawks are ranked fourth in made field goals with 316 of 626 (50.5%) attempted shots. Hocking is ranked fourth in offensive rebounds averaging 19.8 per game and in seventh place in total rebounds, averaging 50 rebounds per game. The Hawks are averaging 13.5 steals per game, which ranks them 9th in NJCAA Division lll.
Hocking’s Miekuanna Knight is ranked 8th averaging a field goal % of 72.7 (24/33) for the season.
Hocking hosts Salem University (WV) JV team on Monday, November 25, and its next game is at Ohio University-Lancaster at 7:30pm on December 4th. The women’s game is set to begin at 5:30pm.
--
Trevor Stephens
Hocking College Athletics
