HIGHLIGHTS

WARREN, Mich. – The ninth-ranked Macomb Men's Basketball team improved to 12-3 on the season with a 71-66 victory over the defending NJCAA Division II National Champions, South Suburban College, Friday (Dec. 30) in Warren. After picking up several wins over teams receiving votes in the national poll earlier this season, the Monarchs earned their first top-five victory under the direction of second-year head coach Hassan Nizam when they toppled the third-ranked Bulldogs Friday afternoon.
 
The Bulldogs, now 12-3 on the season, entered Friday's top-10 showdown shorthanded without the services of two starters.
 
The Monarchs shot out to a 16-8 advantage and held a two-possession or better lead for most of the first half before the reigning champs battled back to make it a two-point game the break. Up 37-35 at the half, the Monarchs allowed the Bulldogs to remain in the contest by giving up 11 second-chance points over the opening 20 minutes of the game.
 
In the second half, the Monarchs once again regained control and led by as many as seven on multiple occasions before the Bulldogs made a late push to take their first lead of the game with 7:18 remaining in the contest. The Bulldogs led by as many as three, including a 64-61 edge with 4:07 left on the clock before Aidan Rubio (Flint, Mich./Goodrich/DME Academy) drained a game-tying 3-pointer at the 3:47 mark to bring the score to 64-64.
 
After the teams exchanged stops, Tamario Adley (Detroit, Mich./De La Salle) drove to the basket for three points the old-fashioned way with an and-one to give the Monarchs a 67-64 edge with just over two minutes remaining.
 
The Monarchs' defense took over from there, limiting the Bulldogs to two points over the final two minutes to earn the 71-66 top-five victory.
 
Adley paced the Monarchs with 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting and added three assists and a pair of steals in 33 minutes of work. Rubio followed with 14 points while pulling down eight rebounds and adding two blocks and two steals and Tymias Williams (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) checked in with 10 points and five rebounds to round out the double-digit scorers for the Monarchs. Jaylen Daughtery (Oak Park, Mich./Ferndale), Linden Holder (Warren, Mich./De La Salle) and Juwan Maxey (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) all recorded seven points, while Daughtery hauled in eight rebounds and added two blocks and a pair of steals in a stat-stuffing 27 minutes of action.
 
The Monarchs return to action January 14 as MCCAA Eastern Conference play opens with a home tilt against Schoolcraft College. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. at the Sports & Expo Center.