WARREN, Mich. – A 9-0 Henry Ford run to end the first half proved to be a key factor as No. 6 Macomb Men's Basketball dropped a hard-fought, top-six battle to the fifth-ranked Hawks, 83-77, Wednesday (Jan. 18) at the Sports & Expo Center. With the setback, the Monarchs sit at 13-4 overall and 1-1 in MCCAA Eastern Conference action.
The Hawks improved to 10-4 overall and 2-0 in league play.
As part of a back-and-forth first half, the Monarchs trailed 38-36 with 2:27 remaining in the opening stanza before the visiting Hawks went on a 9-0 run to take a 47-36 lead into the break.
In the second half, the Monarchs were able to battle back and make it a one-possession game on several occasions but couldn't regain the lead as the Hawks got to the line often and made timely shots down the stretch.
The Hawks shot 21-of-22 from the charity stripe while the Monarchs went to the line for 15 attempts, making 10. The plus-11 advantage at the line, combined with the late first half run, was enough for the Hawks to exit Warren with the six-point win.
Tymias Williams (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) led the Monarchs with a double-double of 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting and 11 rebounds. The 19 points marked a new career-high for the Dakota product while the 11 boards were just shy of tying his collegiate-best 12 rebounds set against Bryant & Stratton earlier this season.
Tamario Adley (Detroit, Mich./De La Salle) followed with 15 points and added a team-high six assists to go along with five rebounds, while
Aidan Rubio (Flint, Mich./Goodrich/DME Academy) checked in with 13 points, six rebounds and a pair of assists.
Juwan Maxey (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11 points.
Cameron McEvans (Southfield, Mich./Southfield A&T) finished with eight points and three steals and
Kareem Aburashed (West Bloomfield, Mich./Country Day) had seven points and four rebounds.
The sixth-ranked Monarchs hit the road Saturday (Jan. 21) for the second leg of three straight top-15 matchups when they visit No. 14 Mott Community College. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. at Ballenger Fieldhouse on Mott's campus.
