Lopes Men’s Basketball Goes to the Wire in Win Over LCCC

Despite trailing most of the game, the Lamar Community College Men's Basketball team was able to defeat the Golden Eagles of Laramie County Community College by a score of 73-71 on Wednesday evening in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  The win puts LCC at 18-10 overall and 9-6 in Region IX South play.  The Lopes currently sit in second place in the South Division, but are only a 0.5 games ahead of the number three seed, North Platte Community College.

The Lopes jumped out to an early lead, but after the first few minutes of the game LCCC took control and led for the majority of the first half.  The Lopes led only two times in the half, but went into the break down by one with a score of 40-39.

In the first ten minutes of the second half, the Golden Eagles seemed to take control and led as many as nine points.  However, LCC was able to put their defense into full effect in the last ten minutes of the game against LCCC.  The team put together a four minute stretch, holding LCCC scoreless and gaining nine points, allowing them to take the lead with just under four minutes left.  The Lopes would push their lead to as high as six with just under two minutes left on the clock, but struggled during the last minute and a half from the charity line.  They only went 1/4, letting the Golden Eagles back in the game.

The contest came down to the last possession with 17 seconds left on the regulation, where the Lopes were up by two and needed to get a stop.  With only three seconds left, sophomore Chris Lewis got a thunderous block where he denied a layup attempt by the Golden Eagles leading scorer, forcing a tough shot to end the game.

Chris Lewis had yet another monster game with 23 points, 17 rebounds, and game-saving block at the end.  Jon Dunmyer would collect 15 points and 4 assists on the night, while Michael Skinner collected 7 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.  Wayne Stewart made 9 points, Taylor Shepard had 8 points, and Mario Zimaridis finished with 7 points including two huge 3 pointers to help LCC make a run.

LCC will be back in action on Monday, February 22, when Northeastern Junior College travels to the Wellness Center.  This game is the WHITE OUT sophomore night for both men's and women's teams; tip-off for the women's game is at 5:00pm followed by the men's game at 7:00pm.  Anyone under 18 will get in for free.  Additionally, anyone who comes in with a white shirt will only pay $2.00 for admission, or attendees can pay the regular price of $5.00 and get a FREE white shirt with admission. FREE white shirts will be handed out to the first 100 people who pay $5.00. 

Please come out and support the Runnin' Lopes on their Sophomore night and remember to wear white!