VINCENNES, Ind. – The fifth-ranked Macomb Men's Basketball team led by as many as 16 points in the second half before the host and NJCAA D1 No. 23 Vincennes Trailblazers used a large run to topple the Monarchs, 66-58, to close out day one of the McDonald's Classic. With the comeback victory, the Trailblazers remained unbeaten at 5-0 on the season. The No. 5 Monarchs fell to 4-1 in the hard-fought setback to the NJCAA D1 perennial power.
Despite the loss, the Monarchs were able to showcase their program at one of the premier junior college regular season tournaments and came out strong to the tune of a 33-28 halftime lead. The five-point halftime edge expanded to as large as 16 points (48-32) before the Monarchs went cold and allowed the Trailblazers to get back in it and rally late. Foul trouble and unlucky shooting doomed the Monarchs down the stretch as the Blue & White couldn't get a field goal to fall in the game's final five minutes.
Aidan Rubio (Flint, Mich./Goodrich/DME Academy) led the Monarchs offensively with 13 points and added three rebounds, while
Juwan Maxey (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) and
Tamario Adley (Detroit, Mich./De La Salle) chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively, in the hard-fought setback.
Linden Holder (Warren, Mich./De La Salle) was aggressive all night for the Monarchs with a balanced nine points, five rebounds and three assists.
Tymias Williams (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) rounded out the notables in the box score with six points and five boards in 16 minutes.
The Monarchs wrap up the Vincennes' McDonald's Classic tomorrow with another game against a NJCAA Top-25 program and a mainstay in the junior college basketball national scene, No. 13 John A. Logan. Tip-off for the Monarchs matchup with the NJCAA D1 No. 13 Volunteers is set for 5 p.m. at Vincennes. John A. Logan will live stream the contest on their men's basketball Facebook page
here.
