Beating league-leading and nationally-ranked Cuyahoga Community College to cap an 18-0 home season?
Edison State Community College (24-5, 11-4 OCCAC) looks to continues its highlight-reel season at 3 p.m. Saturday against Cuyahoga (23-5, 13-1). Cuyahoga has clinched the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference title, but the game brings national implications, too. Cuyahoga is ranked No. 14 in the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Division II rankings. Edison enters No. 16.
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“We’re trying to pack the gym this weekend,” Edison State first-year head coach Kyle Vanover said. “It’ll be a big confidence boost for us if we can get that one. But not the end of the world if we don’t. If we want to get past them in the (OCCAC) tournament we’ll have to play them again.”
Edison was tabbed to finish fifth in the conference’s preseason poll. The Chargers – just like their prolific offense that averages a league-leading 90.6 points per game – have surged past those expectations.
The Chargers have seen impressive individual efforts this season. But teamwork – both on the court and in the classroom – has carried them. A season ago Edison was 13-2 and ranked No. 19 in the nation nearing the end of the first semester of classes. The Chargers lost seven players after the Christmas break because of poor grades and finished 18-13 overall.
An academic plan was installed to make sure it didn’t happen again. Among other safeguards, Vanover receives alerts when players miss class and he checks grades weekly. The Chargers lost one player this season between semesters.
“My coaching staff has done a really good job. Without them … we still have real jobs. We don’t get to coach basketball full-time,” Vanover said of assistants Mark Eustache and Matt Gross. “They’ve done a great job helping keep everything in perspective. I’ve always said you’re only as good as your assistants. It’s the little things those guys do to make the ship sail.”
The Chargers are shooting for a team grade-point average of 3.0 or better. Vanover is confident they can get there. After all, this is a Chargers’ team that doesn’t miss often.
Freshman Lacey Watson (Rock Island, Illinois) averages 25.5 points, good for No. 5 in the nation. He also leads the conference with 9.6 rebounds per game. He’s earned OCCAC player of the week honors four times this season and NJCAA D-II national player of the week once.
Freshman Lamine Komara (Columbus Whetstone HS) averages 13.9 points and 4.4 rebounds, sophomore Dakota Prichard (Spencerville HS; Lima) averages 9.4 and freshman Jaedyn Carter (Columbus South HS) averages 9.3. The Chargers have three sophomores in James Richardson Jr. (Columbus Beechcroft), Caleb Maggard (Marion, Indiana) and Prichard.
“For our sophomores (Saturday) is going to be huge,” Vanover said. “Every day we stress team basketball. Trust each other. Play for each other.
“It’s going to be a very emotional day for them. They’re going to want to end their regular season with a win. We’re 17-0 at home. That puts a little pressure on our last home game against a nationally-ranked team. Can we protect our home court all year? That’s our motivation all week.”
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