Lakers Come Up Short Against Corning by Falling 59-57 at Home

CANANDAIGUA – In a game where the Lakers trailed by as many as sixteen points – FLCC – despite falling by a score of 59-57 to MSAC foes Corning CC at home on Saturday – came close to stealing a conference win.

The visiting Red Barons – who saw their 33-22 halftime lead fade away slowly in the second half – were overtaken momentarily on the scoreboard by the Lakers with 3:45 remaining on the game clock. Finger Lakes – trailing 50-49 at that juncture – after chipping away at its double-digit deficit – took a 51-50 lead thanks to a Kaleem Edwards two-point bucket.

After Edwards' made two-point basket – Finger Lakes and Corning would be involved in a back-and-forth battle in the scoring department. Corning would go on to build a 58-54 lead before things got really interesting with just seconds remaining on the game clock.

After a Markee Brown made three-pointer put the Red Barons up by four – the Lakers stood on the court trailing with the ball in their hands. After Brown's field goal was had – Finger Lakes – despite their backs feeling somewhat against the wall – showed no signs of quit.

With 8.5 seconds remaining in the game – the Lakers Ben Wilburn stood with the ball in his hands in three-point territory. After receiving a crisp pass from teammate Dominique Higgins – the sophomore guard had one thing in mind and that was to shoot the ball almost instantly after receiving it.

Wilburn – after a quick set-up – launched the rock with great form before landing it into the cylinder. His three-pointer would cut Corning's lead to 58-57.

The Lakers – down one – needed to foul the Red Barons immediately once the ball entered into a Corning offenders hands. They did just that. The man they fouled turned out to be Brown.

With 8.1 seconds left in the contest, Brown made his first free throw attempt before missing his second. His missed second free throw landed into the hands of Edwards. After the ball hit Edwards' palms – Finger Lakes signaled for a timeout.

Down 59-57 – the Lakers – who trailed 28-12 late in the first half – found itself on the cusp of pulling off a great comeback.

Who would receive the inbounds pass for Finger Lakes after its timeout concluded?

Wilburn.

Driving the length of the court as precious seconds ticked away – Wilburn headed straight for the lane – where he would make a dash for the hoop. His dash – which was strong in nature – ended in disappointment for the Lakers. As Wilburn penetrated the lane – he was tied up at the hoop by a Corning defender. Just as the tie up occurred – the clock would expire – reading zeroes across it.

An exciting and dramatic finish ended a classic conference showdown.

Finger Lakes – who split its two regular season games with the Red Barons in 2012-13 – fell to 7-3 in the MSAC with the loss.

Corning earned the road victory thanks in large part to its successful shooting efforts. The Red Barons – who were 14-28 from the field as a team in the first half – finished the game shooting 45% from the floor. Corning – along with their 45% shooting – was 9-21 (43%) from three.   

The Lakers – in a losing effort – received a team-high 14 points as well as a game-high 4 steals out of Richard De La Cruz.

Brown paced Corning by scoring a game-high 25 points on 9-12 shooting. His shooting came on a day where he was 4-6 from three. His 4 three's were a game-high. In addition to being the loan Red Baron in double figures – Brown was on the receiving end of a team-high 6 rebounds.

For the Lakers – De La Cruz's double-digit scoring effort was followed by the 10-point afternoon of Edwards. In addition to his scoring – Edwards pulled off a double-double by registering a team-high 10 rebounds.

Wilburn and Higgins each chipped in with 9 points apiece for Finger Lakes in the home meeting. Wilburn – who entered the game off of the bench – produced his numbers in 21 minutes.

Following Brown in the scoring column for Corning with 9 points was Gladimy Saladin. To go along with his scoring – Saladin doled out 3 assists. Joining him with 3 assists of his own was his teammate – Will Griffin.

The Lakers now have just 3 games remaining on their 2012-13 regular season schedule. In their next contest – which is slated to take place this Wednesday (2/13) – Finger Lakes will host conference foes Cayuga CC at home. Game time is set for 8:00 p.m.