DETROIT, Mich. – Monday (Jan. 31) began with Macomb Men's Basketball moving up two spots to No. 8 in the latest NJCAA DII Rankings and ended with a 99-88 road win at Wayne County Community College. The win, the Monarchs 10th straight, pushes the nation's eighth-ranked team to an impressive 16-1 overall and 6-0 in MCCAA Eastern Conference action. The host Wildcats fell to 9-8 overall and an even 4-4 in league play with the setback.
At 6-0 in the MCCAA East, the Monarchs are the lone remaining unbeaten in league play. Every other team in the Eastern Conference has at least three losses after Monday's action.
As for Monday's game at Wayne County, the teams battled back and forth until the Monarchs surged into the half to take a 44-37 lead behind a combined 29 points at the break from Tariq Humes (Farmington, Mich./Elevation Prep) and John Ukomadu (Bloomfield, Mich./Vincennes). Humes drained a three in the waning seconds of the opening half to lift his halftime total to a game-best 15 points, while Ukomadu posted a balanced 14 points.
In the second half, the Monarchs would extend their led to as many as 22 points (74-52) before the Wildcats stormed back with a late push to get to within eight on two occasions. Timely shots by Elijah Belle (Detroit, Mich./Davenport) and Jiovanni Miles (Novi, Mich./Wisconsin-Green Bay) helped keep the Blue & White in front, while Humes and Ukomadu led the way with a combined 59 points to lift the Monarchs to their 16th win in 17 games this season.
Humes paced all scorers with a game-high 30 points – his second 30-plus point game of the campaign. The freshman shot 9-of-14 overall (five 3PM), added seven rebounds and dished out six assists in the hard-fought win. Ukomadu poured in a career-high 29 points, doing so on 10-of-14 shooting overall and a 3-of-4 effort from 3-point land. The sophomore with heavy NCAA Division I interest also pulled down 10 rebounds for his second double-double in as many games.
Miles checked in next with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Belle accounted for 13 points, five boards and four assists. Jaylen Daughtery (Detroit, Mich./Mott) continued his strong play on the glass with 10 rebounds and added eight points in the win.
Up Next: The No. 8 Monarchs visit No. 19 SC4 Wednesday. Tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Port Huron at the SC4 Fieldhouse.
