By Patrick Gordon/Lakeland Sports Information
Elyria, Ohio---Marcus Fleming (Linden, N.J.) recorded a triple-double to power the Lakeland Community College men's basketball team past Lorain County Community College, 115-65, on Friday evening to give 11th year head coach Terry Bowe his 200th career victory. Bowe becomes just the second coach in the 44-year history of the program to reach the 200-win plateau.
Fleming scored ten points, hauled in ten rebounds, and dished out ten assists in the victory. Sophomore guard Gary Little (Cleveland, Ohio / Collinwood) led seven players in double figures with a team-high 17 points. Freshman forward Kenneth Evans (Cleveland, Ohio / Collinwood) paced the Lakers on the glass with a career-high 15 rebounds. Ahmid Williams (Monroe, N.J.) added 15 points and six steals in the win, helping Bowe reach a milestone only one other coach in program history can lay claim to.
In 10 full seasons at the helm, Bowe has guided Lakeland to seven winning seasons, two district titles, and a conference championship while eclipsing 20 wins four times.
Since taking over in 2003, Bowe and the Lakers have achieved unprecedented success. The Lakers won the program's first District title in 2011 and repeated as champions the following season. That year, Lakeland advanced to the NJCAA Division II national semifinals where they came within two wins of the program's first National Championship. LCC finished the year 27-9, tied for the second most wins in school history.
In 2013, the Lakers went 11-1 in Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) play en route to the program's third conference championship and first under during Bowe's tenure. They would advance to their third straight District Championship game but come up just short of a three-peat.
Bowe has been named OCCAC Coach of the Year three times (2007, 2010, 2013) and is a two-time District Coach of the Year (2011, 2012). Additionally, Lakeland is the only Division II program in the country to have a student-athlete selected First Team All-American in each of the past three seasons.
Currently at 10-7 overall and tied atop the OCCAC standings with a 2-0 league record, Bowe and the Lakers will host conference rival Owens Community College on Wednesday (Jan. 22) at 7:30 p.m.