By Kenneth Hoffman/LCCC Athletics
This one is truly remarkable. The Lorain County Community College men's basketball team has opened the 2017-18 basketball season with a perfect 9-0 record and is the highest-scoring NJCAA DIII team in the country, averaging 103.3 ppg. Along the way, the team has been the beneficiary of not one, not two, not three, not four, but NINE different scoring leaders in its nine games to date.
If a team has more than two or three scoring leaders, that would be considered a luxury. Four or five scoring leaders would be a dream. With nine different scoring leaders in nine games this season, the Commodores have made it nearly impossible for opponents to key on any one or two players. The closest victory margin was the recent three-point win at DII Edison State CC.
"We groom each of our guys the same way," Head Coach Marty Eggleston stated. "Our goal is to have the same level of play regardless of who is in the game."
"I've been following basketball at various levels for decades and I've never seen anything like it," Play-by-Play announcer and LCCC Digital Media Broadcast Coordinator Ron Janst said.
Here are the nine scoring leaders in the Commodores' seven games to date:
*at CC Allegheny County - Boyce -- win 95-84; Daniel Lott (Brooklyn/Brooklyn) 23 points
*vs Anne Arundel CC (@Westmoreland Tourn.) -- win 91-63; Zach Swain (Fairview/Fairview Park) 15 points
*vs Lehigh Carbon CC (@Westmoreland Tourn.) -- win 101-69; Jovon Jones (Cleveland/Faith Baptist) 14 points
*at Owens CC -- win 105-93; Jatee Dudley (Cleveland/Garfield Hts.) (and Daniel Lott) 15 points
*vs Pitt-Titusville CC -- win 109-84; Miles Meredith (Bedford/Bedford) (and Daniel Lott) 14 points
*vs Westmoreland CC -- win 104-79; Montez Day (Cleveland/JFK) 19 points
*at Lakeland CC -- win 101-90; Oscar Dorsey (Chicago/Proviso West) 22 points
*at Edison State CC -- win 97-94; Thomas Hronis (North Ridgeville/North Ridgeville) 17 points
*vs CC Allegheny County - Boyce; Mike Rell (Parma/Valley Forge) 22 points
The Commodores' balanced attack has resulted in an average of 103.3 points per game, ranking No. 1 in the nation in Division III. The team has been averaging 10.2 three-point baskets per game, ranking No. 7 in DIII.