KALAMAZOO, Mich. – It wasn't pretty, but the battled-tested and sixth-ranked Macomb Men's Basketball team prevailed by a 92-84 final in overtime at No. 19 Kalamazoo Valley Community College on Saturday (Dec. 16). The ranked road win lifts the No. 6 Monarchs to 9-1 on the season. The host Cougars fell to 8-3 after suffering the home setback.
After a back-and-forth start to the contest, the Monarchs settled in and took control to earn a 43-34 lead at the halftime break. The Monarchs led by double digits for a brief stretch in the opening stanza over a team that beat previously undefeated and No. 1 ranked South Suburban their last time out in Kalamazoo.
In the second half, the Monarchs extended their lead by as many as 14 points before a tough Cougars squad battled all the way back to take the lead with under one minute to play in regulation. The Cougars would hit a pair of free throws in the waning seconds to take a three point lead, but the Monarchs responded in the form of a
Josh Hines (Macomb, Mich./Dakota/U-Indy) 3-pointer with :03 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime at 80-80. Sophomore guard and team leader
Juwan Maxey (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) put his big game experience on display by driving the lane and finding Hines for the game-tying triple.
The Monarchs controlled the entire extra frame and went on to outscore the Cougars by a 12-4 margin in the five-minute period to earn the 92-84 OT win.
Maxey led all Monarchs with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting and added four rebounds and three assists despite battling foul trouble. Hines tied his Macomb career-high with 18 points, including the game-tying 3-pointer as time was winding down in regulation. Hines pulled down five rebounds and dished out a pair of assists while shooting 6-of-12 from the field in the ranked road win.
Back-to-back MCCAA Eastern Conference Player of the Week,
Tymias Williams (Macomb, Mich./Dakota), was the third and final Monarch in double figures with 15 points. Williams corralled a team-best nine rebounds and blocked a game-high six shots in 29 minutes of action.
Marlon Williams (Benton Harbor, Mich./Benton Harbor) provided early scoring in his first start of the season and ended with nine points. Like Maxey,
Parker Day (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage/GVSU) battled foul trouble throughout despite posting eight points and five rebounds.
Justin James (Sterling Heights, Mich./Stevenson) and
Kyle Millender (Detroit, Mich./DEPSA) dropped in six points each while
Tate MacKenzie (Ypsilanti, Mich./Lincoln) and
Jotham Nweke (Oak Park, Mich./Loyola) chipped in with five each in the overtime win. James recorded a team-high five assists to accompany his six-point afternoon and came up big defensively for the Monarchs in 22 minutes of work.
The Monarchs will be off from game action until Dec. 30 when they travel to the Chicagoland area for a showdown with the current fifth-ranked team in the country, South Suburban. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT at South Suburban.
