Lakers Top Jaguars 98-67

CANANDAIGUA -- The Finger Lakes Men's Basketball team stayed perfect on the season with a 98-67 victory over Division II Jamestown Community College-Cattaraugus Campus on Wednesday. The Lakers are now 7-0 on the season.

The Jaguars started the game with strong defense. They forced missed shots and turnovers early on. Cattaraugus went on a 7-0 run and held a 12-11 lead seven minutes into the game. Kievonn Banks would make a layup to take the lead back. Banks would then add a three pointer. Dylan Verkey got into the action with a three and a layup. A final Banks layup would cap a quick 12-0 run over a three minute stretch to put the game back in the hands of the Lakers. The Jaguars worked the margin down to as low as six points the rest of the half, but Finger Lakes carried a 39-32 lead into the break. 

Banks and Junior Sims each had nine points at the half. Brandon Bullock added six along with eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Although Jamestown was forcing missed shots from the Lakers, 37.5% from the field, Finger Lakes was able to take advantage of the Jaguars' turnovers. They outscored the Jaguars 15-4 off of turnovers in the first half.

The second half began with teams trading baskets early. Finger Lakes would put the game away early on in the half however. A pair of Sims layups sandwiched a Dylan Verkey three pointer and the Lakers were out and running. Finger Lakes would go on an 18-0 run to put the game out of reach early on in the second half. Mike Lacey hit a jumper with 2:30 remaining to balloon the lead to 30 points and the Lakers went on to the 98-67 victory.

Banks and Sims were the high scorers for the Lakers. Each had 19 points for Finger Lakes. Banks added four assists and Sims had six rebounds. Brandon Bullock had a full stat line. He finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals. Dylan Verkey and Torry Wright were the other Laker starters in double figures. Verkey made three three pointers and finished with 15 points. Wright had 11 points and six rebounds. Mike Lacey chipped in with 10 points off of the bench and Deante Mathis added 8 for Finger Lakes.

The Lakers improved their shooting in the second half, shooting 57.8% from the field in the frame. They had a +15 rebounding advantage over the Jaguars and ended up scoring 30 points off of Jamestown turnovers.

Finger Lakes will take to the road this weekend for a tough regional test. They travel to Utica on Saturday to take on Mohawk Valley Community College. The Hawks are currently ranked 3rd in the Region III Coaches' Poll. They will then take on the #1 ranked team in the region, Herkimer County Community College, on Sunday. The Generals are also ranked 10th in the NJCAA Division III Basketball Poll.