Lakers Down Jefferson, Notch Second Consecutive Conference Win
CANANDAIGUA – In a game that saw twelve lead changes this afternoon at Putt Moore Court, it would be the host Finger Lakes CC Lakers who would pull out of it victorious. Their opponent – the Jefferson CC Cannoneers – couldn't hold onto an early 12-point second half lead, as the Lakers would go on a run offensively to conquer a 61-49 win. The victory marked their second consecutive home conference win.
Jefferson, leading 27-25 at the half, attempted to set the tone in its favor coming out in the second half of Saturday's contest. The Cannoneers would open up a rather quick 10-0 run in the beginning of the second half. Leading 37-25, Jefferson seemed to be establishing a great deal of momentum. That momentum, unfortunately for the Cannoneers, would reach an abrupt halt.
The Lakers, after trailing by 12 in the start of the final half, began to chip away at their deficit after Jefferson's 10-0 run. They eventually went on to outscore Jefferson by a difference of 36-12 after that 10-0 run. Finger Lakes, which outscored the Cannoneers 36-22 in the second half, turned a 12-point deficit into a 12-point win.
The Lakers, who were led by Richard De La Cruz's 15 points in the win, for the second game in a row, displayed a high volume of unselfish play on the hardwood. On the afternoon, they received scoring efforts out of 9 different players.
De La Cruz was followed by teammate Dominique Higgins in the scoring column. Higgins, in 23 minutes worth of court time, tallied 14 points off 6-8 shooting from the field. Each of his 14 points came post halftime.
De La Cruz's 15 points contained a game-high 3 made three-pointers. On the day, he went 3-7 from beyond the arc.
Higgins, in addition to his 14 points, administered a team-high 3 assists all while grabbing a team-high 3 steals.
Finger Lakes, on top of receiving a rounded scoring effort out of its roster on Saturday, displayed solid play around the glass as it saw 10 of its players record at least one rebound or more. Leading the rebounding category for the hosts was reserve Kelvin Munoz. A 5'11" guard, the Washington Heights, NY native was on the receiving end of 9 rebounds, 7 of which were offensive.
De La Cruz followed Munoz in the rebounding department with 7 boards of his own.
Adding 5 rebounds each for the Lakers were Kaleem Edwards, Sean Carbonell, Will Arberry, and Nate Miller.
If you had to point towards one category that could have ultimately decided the outcome of this meeting, you could easily have pointed at the points off turnovers category as a key-deciding factor. Finger Lakes scored 21 points off 17 Jefferson turnovers. The Cannoneers, on the other hand, delivered just 8 points off 12 Laker turnovers.
Jefferson, despite falling, delivered three double-digit scorers. Leading the Cannoneers in scoring with 15 points was Derrick Williams. Following him with 11-point and 10-point showings respectively were Ryan Tomlin and Damien Jackson. Williams, in addition to his 15 points, notched a game-high 5 steals.
The Lakers will return to the court tomorrow for a home meeting with SUNY Delhi. Game time is set for 2:00 p.m.