Men's college basketball: Lorain County Community College leans on Lem Payne, defense to get season-opening win

ELYRIA — Every time the Lorain County Community College men's basketball team was pushed Saturday, it turned up the defense. The Commodores never trailed in their season opener in their own Commodore Classic, but Community College of Allegheny County made three key runs to cut the game to one possession. But strong defense sparked LCCC, which held off the Wildcats 72-59. LCCC's Lem Payne was at the center of just about everything, leading all scorers with 27 points, while adding eight rebounds, six assists, three steals and a block. "I'm speechless," he said. "I worked so hard for this. I just want to keep thanking God, my family and my teammates. They give me energy, so I give them energy back. We start from Day 1 and worked so hard up until this game so that we'd be ready. We wanted it. We just put our all on the floor. Our defense is what gets us going on offense, that's what got me going." LCCC stretched its lead to 18-5 thanks to 10 unanswered points, many sparked by timely turnovers that led to transition buckets. Payne scored six points during the run on a 3-pointer, a free throw and a layup. His two field goals were aided by steals from Traevon Fann and Casey Kelley. Fann was particularly active on the defensive end, leading the Commodores with four steals. Kelley also finished with three. "Defense was really the key," LCCC coach Marty Eggleston said. "We have to set the tone of the game with our defensive play. That's our goal each day. Baskets are going to come, guys are going to get shots, those are automatic parts of the game. Defense is desire, defense is how much do you want it, defense is how do I control the tempo. That's what it's all about, making the decision to play good, hard, solid defense." But CCAC closed the half on a 14-4 run, including nine unanswered points, once Jihaad Dennard converted his first bucket. The forward led the Wildcats with 16 points, scoring eight in the final 5:13 of the opening half. CCAC tied the score at 31 on its first possession out of halftime, but LCCC responded with six unanswered. Bennett Sulen helped keep the Wildcats at bay with the next six Commodores points, but Dennard drained four free throws and Eric de la Cruz connected on a three that cut the lead to 47-46. The Wildcats stayed within five points until cutting it back to one possession at the 6:30 mark. That's when LCCC responded with another 10 unanswered with Payne and Fann combining for eight — three of the field goals sparked by steals, including a thunderous dunk by Fann, who finished with 11 points after scoring one in the first half. "I just went into the locker room and had to calm myself down," Fann said. "I had to catch my composure and just get it on the defensive end. I knew I was going to get it on the defensive end, and that got me going. I just trusted myself, my teammates and I just got it going." Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com and follow him @CSweeney1686 on Twitter. LCCC 72, CCAC 59 COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF ALLEGHENY COLLEGE (59): Abed Khayat 0-0-0, Frank Der Vanik 6-1-13, Jihaad Dennard 6-4-16, James Davis 5-2-12, Dre Jones 2-0-6, Erick de la Cruz 3-0-9, Teyron Wofford 1-0-3, Brandon Ferguson 0-0-0, Jericho Trout Johnson 0-0-0, Nahum Brazil 0-0-0. Totals 23-7-59.LORAIN COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE (72): Jayden Roberts 3-0-6, Luqman Lateef 2-0-4, Bennett Sulen 5-0-10, Lem Payne 11-4-27, Anthony Mcghaw 0-0-0, Rocky Houston 1-0-3, Jason Becka 1-0-2, Brandon Fisher 1-0-3, Austin Copen 0-0-0, Traevon Fann 4-2-11, Casey Kelley 2-2-6, Quante May 0-0-0, Abdulaziz Sesay 0-0-0. Totals 30-8-72.CCAC&emsp;&emsp;29&emsp;&emsp;30&emsp;&emsp;—&emsp;&emsp;59LCCC&emsp;&emsp;31&emsp;&emsp;41&emsp;&emsp;—&emsp;&emsp;72Three-point goals: CCAC 6-16 (de la Cruz 3, Jones 2, Wofford), LCCC 4-16 (Payne, Houston, Fisher, Fann). Field goals: CCAC 23-60 (38 percent), LCCC 30-65 (46 percent). Free throws: CCAC 7-10 (70 percent), LCCC 8-12 (67 percent). Rebounds: CCAC 38 (Dennard 9, Davis 8, Wofford 6), LCCC 35 (Payne 8, Sulen 8). Assists: CCAC 9 (Wofford 3), LCCC 14 (Fann 4, Payne 3). Steals: CCAC 5 (De la Cruz 2), LCCC 14 (Fann 4, Payne 3, Kelley 3). Blocks: CCAC 0, LCCC 2 (May, Payne) Total fouls: CCAC 13, LCCC 14. Turnovers: CCAC 16, LCCC 13.