WINONA LAKE — The Lakeland Christian Academy boys basketball team is ready for its first season as an official IHSAA team. A former member of the Indiana Association of Christian Schools, LCA served a one-year probationary period last season, therefore not participating in any postseason. Now, as a full member of the IHSAA, the Cougars aren’t in a conference, but will play in Class 1A Sectional 52. For third-year coach Lee Compson, that postseason play will be the only difference for his team. “The end of the season will be different, but the last two years, we've really conformed our schedule to add more IHSAA teams and also fit within the parameters that the IHSAA wants in terms of amount of games,” he said. “It's not going to be too different. We've gradually fit everything to what the IHSAA wants. We're looking forward to it.” While they’ve been conforming, the Cougars have also been doing a lot of losing. In the past two seasons, LCA has compiled a 6-35 record. “We've taken our lumps the past couple of years,” Compson said. “Last year, we were 2-19 and we lost nine games that were five or six-point games going into the fourth quarter. We were in a lot of games and were competitive. We've really focused on finishing strong.” Helping the Cougars take baby steps is a roster featuring nine seniors. “Six of them lettered last year, along with two other juniors on the varsity,” Compson said. “We have a lot of experience coming back.” The senior class features Joel Haines (5-foot-8), Chris Maron (5-9), Kenneth Koontz (5-11), Collin Price (5-11), Logan Pitts (5-11), Billy Pitts (6-2), Zarek Finley (6-2), Calvin Prinsen (6-7) and Noah Cole (6-3), while juniors Chris Silveus (5-11) and Logan Mount (6-4) also bring back experience. Even though LCA has had its struggles, Compson is happy with the numbers he has at the small school. “It kind of dawned on me last year that we are the (Hickory team from) 'Hoosiers',” he said. “That school is almost the size of our school, because (grades) seven through 12, we have about 150 kids. Fortunately, we have a strong senior class. It's a large class and they've been focused on basketball.” Going into the season, Compson’s been happy with the play of Price, who he deems as the leader. “Collin Price is our point guard and he's developing into a good leader for us on the court and off the court,” Compson said. “He's setting the tone in practice with his energy.” Also running with Price in the projected starting lineup will be Silveus, Finley and Prinsen, who Compson has seen improve since last year. “He's a real talented post player,” Compson said. “He's developing his game and working on it. He really worked hard over the summer and is starting to come around. He's living up to the potential we've seen in him.” And depending on the matchup, either Billy Pitts or Maron will fill the last starting spot. “I told them, it doesn’t really matter who’s starting, it’s about who’s out there to finish,” Compson said. Although he does have the 6-7 Prinsen in the middle, the bulk of his squad is smaller, but he can make adjustments off the bench. “We're guard-oriented for the most part,” he said. “We can match up if teams have a bigger squad. We have two guys that are in the 6-2, 6-3 range and can play well on defense. If we had to, we could go big.” Compson’s first chance to make adjustments will be Tuesday at home against the Caston Comets.
