Lake County wins home opener

The College of Lake County men’s basketball team won its home opener Thursday night, holding off Rock Valley College 67-60.

The win evens up the Lancers’ record at 2-2.

The Lancers jumped on Rock Valley early and led 42-25 at halftime.

CLC shot 55 percent in the first half, including 6 of 9 from three-point range.

Defensive lapses and turnovers cut the Lancer lead to six points within two minutes, but the hosts held on.

Gilbert Sheehan (Grant) led the way for CLC, scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive glass.

TJ Abrams added 13 points, including three 3-pointers, while Trey Williams (Lakes) and Paul Williams (Zion-Benton) scored 9 and 8 points, respectively, for CLC.

The Lancers shot 46 percent from the three-point line.

Despite the win, head coach Joe Paul knows there is still much room for improvement.

“It was great to play in front of our home crowd, and we sent them home happy,” said Paul. “A win is a win, but we need to play smarter and learn to put a team away when we have the opportunity.

“We are playing good defense overall, but scoring 67 points is not going be enough to win against the best teams on our schedule. Our offensive production will happen. It’s just a work in progress.”

The Lancers play one of those very good teams this Saturday at 3 p.m. at home, against South Suburban Community College.