WINONA LAKE — In Chris Hohm’s first year as head coach for Lakeland Christian Academy, the Cougars won a total of one game. That win came in the season finale against Portage Christian.

In his second season the team progressed from learning the ins and outs of the game to competing. Hohm emphasized after the LCA holiday tournament his team realized it could compete and the next step was learning to win.

The Cougars (4-19) put together its first winning streak since 2014 with back-to-back wins over South Bend Career Academy and South Bend Community Baptist. LCA has also been much more competitive this season, showing just how far Hohm has led the team in a short time.

The development of younger players like Josh McDaniel and Jake Harmon have helped to push the team’s competitiveness. The presence of those young players, in addition to Landon and Noah Twombly, seniors Jon Harmon, Connor Blum and Carter Twombly have themselves been able to develop and improve. With all of those parts working together and seemingly finding their niche roles, the Cougars are shaping up to be an interesting dark horse team in the IHSAA Class 1-A sectional tournament at Fort Wayne Blackhawk.

LCA drew the bye and will face either the host Braves or Lakewood Park, who meet each other in Tuesday’s first round.

“We are going to have to play incredible defense,” stated LCA head coach Chris Hohm. “We will have to handle pressure. Both (Lakewood and Blackhawk) are long and quick, and have strong athletes. There were a few games that we went into this season where we didn’t believe we could handle the pressure, and were blown out quickly. I think the key will be mental toughness and limit our turnovers.”

Make no mistake, LCA was 0-5 against potential sectional opponents this season, but the Cougars have not played the majority of those teams since Jan. 5, with the one exception being a 68-39 loss to Lakewood Park Feb. 5.
LCA has only improved since that point and McDaniel, a sophomore, has found his shot and looks to be a legitimate threat for opposing defenses.

“Josh has really stepped up and become a leader for us,” Hohm said. “His scoring has been huge for us. Coming down to it in the fourth quarter, when we need a basket, he’s been our guy. We have a lot of quality guys on our roster, but no one really stepped up to be that verbal leader. Josh has started to take over that role for us.”

If the Cougars do plan on turning any heads in the postseason, they will have to focus on improved team defense. LCA surrenders more than 60 points per game to opposing offenses. Getting that number under 60 has been a big part of when the Cougars have found the win column. LCA’s offense usually scores in the 40s but has shown the ability to get into the 50s and even 60s certain nights. A 92-point night, albeit against a weak Howe squad, proves LCA can fill it when given the opportunity.

Bethany Christian and Hamilton open the sectional Tuesday night, followed by Blackhawk and LPC. Elkhart Christian will get the Bethany-Hamilton winner in Friday’s first game, with LCA playing in game two of the semi-finals. The Blackhawk championship game will start at 7 p.m. Saturday night.