BUTLER TWP— Fred Skrocki knows what's in front of him: a long road.

The first-year Butler County Community College men's basketball coach watched his team drop to 0-3 Tuesday night with an 89-51 loss to Garrett (Md.)Community College at the BC3 Fieldhouse.

The Pioneers' three losses — all against top-level junior college foes — have come by an average of 32 points.

"They're a strong team — a beautiful team,"Skrocki said of Garrett. "Our offense is still not there. We've been trying to stress a lot of defense in the early going.

"They're stronger and quicker than us. We tried playing a zone and those guys just shot us right out of it."

The Lakers (3-0) canned three 3-pointers in the first five minutes in jumping out to a 15-4 lead.

Their lead was 50-18 with 3:23 left in the first half until BC3 scored the final 12 points before intermission.

"We've averaged 20 wins a year for 20 seasons now,"Garrett coach Dennis Gibson said. "They have a new coaching staff still learning about JUCObasketball. They're going to need some time."

Garrett scored the first 10 points of the second half to erase any comeback thoughts the Pioneers may have been entertaining.

The Lakers' biggest lead was 41 points at 85-44 with 3:40 left in the game.

"They could have scored 100 points on us easily,"Skrocki said. "Their coach called off their attack over the final few minutes, and I appreciated that. I thanked him for it.

"Ijust wanted to make sure our kids knew they could have scored 100. We have a lot of things to work on."

The Lakers sank 38 of 66 shots from the field for 57 percent and had five players score in double figures. Mark Smith had 14 points and nine rebounds while Shawn Greenfield added 14 points.

Garrett had a 35-26 edge in rebounds and took advantage of 27 Pioneers turnovers, turning most of them into transition layups the other way.

Butler graduate Jace Lumley led the Pioneers with 15 points — his third consecutive double-digit game — with Travis Williams adding 11. Moniteau graduate Matt Buczkowski grabbed seven rebounds.

"Every now and then, we see a sparkle out there,"Skrocki said. "But we know we're not there yet. It's frustrating, but we knew this was going to be tough.

"People tell me that now I know what it's like on the other side of the fence. I've always respected the other side of the fence. It's a challenge to build a winning program the right way.

"One day I'm going to walk out of this locker room for an interview drenched by Gatorade. That's the goal," Skrocki added.

Skrocki won more than 400 games and a state championship in 20-plus years at Schenley High School.

Gibson is 413-204 in 21 years at Garrett. His program has sent 60 players to four-year colleges, including seven to Division I schools. NBAstandout Steve Francis once played for Garrett.

"We don't offer scholarships,"Gibson said. "We get players through word-of-mouth and plain hard work. To succeed at this level is very rewarding."

GARRETT (Md.) 89Shawn Greenfield 5-11 2-2 14, C.J. Glen 4-6 0-0 9, Dale Taylor 5-8 0-0 11, Vladimir Nikolov 1-2 0-0 2, Mark Smith 6-9 2-2 14, J.T. Lewis 4-7 0-0 8, Reco Siler 4-7 2-2 11, Terrance Taylor 5-8 0-0 10, Joe Tressler 1-1 0-0 3, Glen Izevbigie 3-5 1-4 7, Gabriel Leggett 0-2 0-0 0.

Totals: 38-66 7-10 89

BUTLER CCC 51Travis Williams 5-13 0-0 11, Jerry Miller 1-1 0-0 3, Max Krepps 2-2 1-2 6, Tyler Drzemiecki 1-1 0-0 3, Jace Lumley 5-12 3-4 15, Josh Marchinoski 0-2 0-0 0, Chris Priester 0-1 0-0 0, Anthony Blumling 2-3 0-2 4, Jamal Pendleton 1-3 0-0 2, Nick Rutloski 1-2 0-0 2, Matt Buczkowski 0-7 5-6 5. Totals: 18-47 9-14 51

Halftime score: Garrett 50, Butler CCC 30

3-point goals: Greenfield 2, Glen, D. Taylor, Siler, Tressler; Williams, Miller, Krepps, Drzemiecki, Lumley 2

Friday: BC3 vs. Takoma Park at Westmoreland Tip-Off Tournament