Hornets rebound with big win

Lakeland (6-4) needed a big win and got it when it defeated Albertus Magnus 74-60 on Jan. 14. 

“This was a huge win and confidence booster for us,” coach Shawn Sullivan said. “After the bad game vs. Fox Lane, the guys came to practice willing to work hard and really improve on both sides of the ball. Their hard work paid off tonight.” 

Sullivan was referring to the Hornets’ 64-26 loss at Fox Lane on Jan. 9. 

“It was huge to bounce back like this, putting us back onto a winning mentality going into our next game against Brewster (scheduled for Jan. 17 at Brewster but was postponed because of the snow),” Lakeland’s Mike Lucia said. “The key to our success was our coaches getting us well prepared for this game and us bringing the fire in practice, which definitely contributed.” 

Lakeland’s hard work resulted in seven Hornets scoring at least four points apiece, including Mateo Lugo (14 points), Lucia (12 points), Anthony Ray (11 points), Louis Murray (10 points), Aadi Sandu (7 points), Patrick Gibson (4 points), and Aidan Leonard (4 points).  

“This is a very unselfish team. The guys really looked for each other tonight, and we knocked down a bunch of good looks for us,” Sullivan said. 

Lakeland also did the job on the boards, led by Luke Lulanaj (7 rebounds) and Louis Murray (6 rebounds).  

“Louis and I had to be very physical tonight and had to focus on boxing out and getting as many rebounds as we can for our team,” Lulanaj said. “This game we definitely had height on the other team so we had to use that to our advantage and get the most rebounds possible. Coach Sullivan also had a good game plan, picking a few guys to be designated rebounders while the rest got back on defense, which definitely helped us a lot defensively tonight.”  

Magnus got off to a 12-4 lead but Lakeland rallied, with Lucia hitting a trey to go up 21-19 late in the first quarter. 

“We were all in the right spots at the right time, and I ended up knocking it down which felt great,” Lucia said. “We were able to keep composure and started hitting shots when we needed to.” 

Sandu connected from downtown early in the second quarter to put Lakeland up 25-22, which started a 19-5 run that gave the Hornets a 41-27 halftime advantage. 

“We started to get hot and started rolling,” Lucia said. “We started forcing turnovers and playing good defense which led to our offense.” 

Gibson finished that run with a jumper right before halftime. 

“It was a sick shot,” Lulanaj said. “The shot was huge and it definitely gave us more motivation going into the second half. We came out fired up and ready to play ball.” 

Magnus cut the Hornets’ lead to 60-55 in the fourth quarter, but Lucia drove down the lane to start a 14-5 run that sealed the win for the Hornets.  

“We all knew what we had to do to close out the game, and we were able to capitalize,” Lucia said. “I knew we needed to get some cushioning to be able to close out this game and I was able to do that with my finish at the hoop. Just being able to make that shot and get momentum back on our side felt amazing.”