Keyser, WV – Kam Heathington's layup with 23 seconds remaining Monday night lifted Garrett College to a 73-72 men's basketball victory over rival Potomac State College of West Virginia University.
Camren Wilkes had two cracks at a game-winning basket for the Catamounts in the final 11 seconds, but the Lakers survived those threats to complete a home-and-home sweep of Potomac State.
Potomac State – which lost to the Lakers by 28 points last month – built an eight-point, first-half lead. The Lakers, however, rallied as Carmello Myles scored a team-high 17 points and Nasir Coleman (game-high five assists) scored 13 points.
"Road games against your rivals are never easy," said GC head coach Matt McCullough. "Coach [Ryan] Streets and his staff had a really good game plan. I really felt like they outplayed us the majority of the game.
"We made just enough plays down the stretch to pull off the comeback and hopefully gain some positive momentum going into a tough stretch of our schedule," added McCullough, noting GC's next five opponents have a combined record of 53-21.
GC's Stephen Robinson scored 10 points and pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds, helping the Lakers claim their fourth straight win and sixth in their last seven games.
Daniel Charlot led Potomac State with a game-high 19 points and Damian Thompson added 16 for the Catamounts (7-8). Wilkes added nine points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
Garrett 69, Catonsville 65
Catonsville, MD – Gavin Jackson scored a team-high 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field last Thursday as the Lakers held off host Community College of Baltimore County-Catonsville.
"The first game back from a long winter break always provides a unique challenge, especially in a tough atmosphere as Catonsville always is," said GC head coach Matt McCullough. "Our guys made mistakes but played hard and stayed poised during an up-and-down game.
"Winning a road division game against a high-quality team was huge for our confidence and outlook as we get into January and February basketball," added McCullough.
Nasir Coleman (four rebounds, three assists) joined Jackson in double figures in the low-scoring affair. Carmello Myles had nine points and a game-high nine rebounds for the Lakers, who built a 32-25 halftime lead.
Micah Morgan scored a game-high 17 points for the Cardinals.
Garrett (11-3 overall, 6-0 region) stayed undefeated in NJCAA Division II Region 20 action in part by shooting 58.3 percent from the field. Catonsville (7-6, 1-2) shot by 38.6 percent from the floor.
