By: Roy Valmores

The Lancers won a closely contested game against Wilbur Wright College's Rams on Tuesday.

Defense and highlight play from the bench shined in a match pitting two strong offenses against one another.

Coming into the game, the Lancers offense had already been hitting strides. They have scored over 80 points in three of their last games.

Offensively for the Rams, they had Forward Ricky Watson, who is already averaging 22.6 points per game.

After a quick two fouls on Guard Jovan Jokic, quick scores by Wilbur Wright had them off to an early lead.

Early aggressiveness and defense allowed for the Lancers to regain the lead, after a cold start to the game. The aggressiveness translated into an insurmountable number of Rams fouls that also tipped the scale in favor of the Lancers.

Numerous trips to the free throw line allowed the Lancers to slightly build on their lead, shooting 11 of 17 from the line.

Unfortunately, for both teams the many fouls added to the slow start.

"It really slowed the game down," Head Coach Chuck Ramsey said. "Beginning of the game was a terrible start with so many touch fouls."

Defensively, the bench was able to generate more steam behind exciting plays to include a highlight steal in midair by Guard Will Adams.

Going into the half, high-scoring Watson had already scored 12 points. However, the Lancers' defense allowed only one other Rams player to score double-digit points in the first.

Comparably, all but two players on the Lancers' roster had scored after the first half of play.

Predicting more of a running game, the Lancers had to make adjustments. Once made, the team's defense allowed them to play their game and steadily control the game.

"We thought we were going to be running a lot more," Guard Ethan Sage said. "When we started setting up our offensive sets it made us realize we could win this games."

Heading into the second half, the Lancers were able to establish a strong transition defensive game that slowed the Ram's efforts to play the shot clock on every possession.

"This team wanted to slow down every possession they got," Sage said. "We got a lot of open points in the lane because they were still in the offensive sets they were already in and we were moving."

The second half improvement of the transition game was buoyed by the rebounding of Sage and Forward Kealin McLean.

Both players put up double-doubles, as they dominated Wilbur Wright College both on the glass and in the paint.

Sage's 16 points were amongst CLC scorers. McLean ended with 12 points and led all players in rebounds with 11.

Guard Jordan Taylor's steady performance throughout the season continued as he contributed 15 points in the Lancers' victory.

This victory creates a positive start for the Lancers heading into the second month of the season.

"We're started to establish how our rhythm is going," McLean said. "We're starting to get upbeat and we're starting to play better."

Heading into full swing of the season, the Lancers are beginning to hit a stride that allows them to build upon last season's success.