Estherville, IA- The Iowa Lakes Men's Basketball team opened their season with the hosting of the inagural 'Daryl Madison Classic' this past weekend. The classic is now dedicated to the memory of Daryl Madison, a long-time supporter and friend of Iowa Lakes athletics.

In their first official action, the Lakers faced off against NJCAA Division 1 Marshalltown Community College. The Lakers were down 13 points at halftime, but battled back to outscore the Tigers by 16 in the second half and close out a comeback victory to open the season. 

The Lakers were led by sophomore guard Jermaine Freeman with 19 points and freshman center Timothy Ofesi,who earned a 16 point and 14 rebound double-double in his first college action. Byron Maina, Jack Wadlington, and Jorge Castro each added 7 points in their college debuts for the Lakers. Freshmen, Dominic Preiser and Cooper Harris both pitched in 8 points off the bench. Preiser added 6 rebounds while Harris contributed 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Marshalltown was led by Tre'Von Coney and Tom Guma who each netted 14 points. 

In their second night of action, the Lakers took on 11th ranked Milwaukee Area Technical College. In a high paced affair the Lakers would suffer their first loss of the season, 92-77.  

The Lakers were led by Jermaine Freeman, who was 1 point shy of tying his career-high, with 29 points. Timothy Ofesi contributed 15 points. Jorge Castro chipped in 15 points off of the bench. Cooper Harris and Jack Wadlington had 9 and 7 points respectively. 

MATC was led by Ray Boutin with 15 points.

The Lakers will travel to Johnson County next weekend to take part in the Johnson County Classic. The Lakers will play #9 Johnson County on Friday at 7 pm, and Highland CC - KS on Saturday at 2 pm.