Wellington's Jayden Roberts Leads Quartet Of Commodores Honored By OCCAC
March 9, 2023 - - With the conclusion of the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) men's basketball regular season, the time for postseason awards has arrived and the Commodores feature four players who stood out this season amongst their peers on the hardwood.
The Commodores top award went to Wellington native Jayden Roberts.
Jayden Roberts (Wellington, Ohio/Wellington HS) was named to the Second Team All-OCCAC and was named the Region 12 DIII Player of the Year and made the First Team All-Region. The is the second season in a row a Commodore has taken the top honor for the Region. LCCC's Rod Harris won Region 12 DIII Player of the Year last season.
The beginning of the season started slowly for the freshman. However, as the season progressed, he found his footing and morphed into a 20 point per game scorer by final month of the season. He averaged a pedestrian 7.5 points per game in the first six games of the season, but once the calendar flipped to December, Roberts gained confidence and improved to 14 points per game in December and then averaged over 20 points per game in the months of January and February. During the season, he scored over 20+ points 11 times and had five double-doubles on the season.
Also making the DIII All-Region team were Lem Payne (Philadelphia, Pa./Mount Pleasant HS) and Brandon Fisher (Strongsville, Ohio/Columbia HS).
Payne was a standout defender for the Commodores this season. He led the OCCAC in steals with 74 and was a main offensive catalyst for most of the season despite battling injuries. His 74 thefts this season broke the LCCC single season record for steals he set the previous season with 61. Payne did it all for the Commodores this season. After most games, it was never a surprise see Payne with multiple rebounds, assists, steals on the stat sheet. Twice he collected a double-double during the season and six times he scored over 20 points for the Commodores.
Fisher was the sharp shooting guard off the bench that routinely attacked from beyond the 3-point line for the Commodores. In 11 games this season, Fishers hit four or more 3-point baskets and finished the season hitting at a 43% clip from downtown. On January 25 against Bryant & Stratton, he drained a season-high six shots from beyond the arc. He scored his season-high in points on the road against Edison State on December 3, 2022, with 34.
Rounding out the final postseason award for the Commodores was Jason Becka (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick HS) who received the sportsmanship award for the Commodores. Each team nominates an individual that best exemplifies sportsmanship for their program. Becka has been a member of the LCCC men's basketball team since 2019. Injuries cut short his basketball playing career short but that never deterred him from coming to practices, games, and supporting his teammates.