Commodores Dominate Owens to Capture NJCAA Region 12 Championship

February 18, 2026 - - The Lorain County Community College men's basketball team captured the NJCAA Division III Region 12 Championship with a 93–74 victory over Owens Community College in Perrysburg, Ohio Wednesday night.

The title marks the fourth region championship for head coach Marty Eggleston over his 13 seasons leading the Commodores.

LCCC set the tone early, jumping out to the first lead of the game.  Owens battled back to tie the score at 8–8, but the Commodores responded with a decisive 12–0 run to create separation.  They took a 46–27 advantage into halftime which was capped off when Ike Rowser (Lorain, Ohio/Lorain HS) drilled a half-court shot at the buzzer. 

The Commodores committed just two turnovers in the opening 20 minutes and continued to control the game in the second half, pushing their lead to more than 30 points before closing out the 19-point victory to secure the region crown.

Dennis Pettis Jr. (Lorain, Ohio/Lorain HS) led the way with 31 points on 12-of-20 shooting, adding 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.  Jayveon Roe (Euclid, Ohio/Villa Angela-St. Joseph HS) followed with 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting and five rebounds.  Rowser contributed 22 points, knocking down four three-pointers, while Aven Kielian (Lorain, Ohio/Lorain HS) dished out six assists and grabbed 10 rebounds, a season-high.

Julian Daniels (Lorain, Ohio/Lorain HS) added 11 points off the bench.

As a team, LCCC shot over 50 percent from the field and recorded 21 assists on 38 made field goals. 

With the region title secured, the Commodores (6-23) advance to the NJCAA DIII Sub-District Final, where they will host the Joliet Junior College Wolves (12-11) at 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 21, 2026, for an opportunity to move on to the District Championship held in Butler, Pennsylvania.