SOUTH HOLLAND, Ill. – Cold shooting and a slow start would be the difference Saturday (Dec. 30) in the top six battle between the sixth-ranked Monarchs and the No. 5 South Suburban Bulldogs. The host Bulldogs won, 89-77, to extend their home winning streak to 53 games as the Monarchs fell for only the second time this season (9-2).

Both of Macomb's losses have come to fellow ranked teams in the top 10 (No. 7 Ellsworth and No. 5 South Suburban).

The host Bulldogs improved to 13-1 on the season with the win.

Parker Day (Saginaw, Mich./Heritage/GVSU) was impressive throughout as the NCAA Division II transfer posted a team-high 26 points and added seven rebounds, two assists and two steals in a well-rounded game to close out the 2023 calendar. The 26-point effort was one shy of Day's career-high 27 set earlier this season against CBG Prep.

Much like the Bulldogs were in last year's matchup, the Monarchs came into the annual meeting shorthanded without the services of two-time MCCAA Eastern Conference Player of the Week, Tymias Williams (Macomb, Mich./Dakota). Despite being down an impact player, the Monarchs added a key piece to the lineup as sophomore guard Nate Brown (Flint, Mich./Davison) saw action for the first time this season.

Brown, an all-conference player a season ago, was impressive in his Macomb debut as the sophomore guard dished out four assists and joined Day as the lone Monarchs in double figures with 15 points.

Tate MacKenzie (Ypsilanti, Mich./Lincoln) posted nine points and four rebounds to round out Saturday's scoring leaders in Illinois.

The No. 6 Monarchs return to action Jan. 5 for day one of the two-day SC4 Classic in Port Huron. The Monarchs will battle Muskegon on Jan. 5 at 4 p.m. before closing out the weekend with a ranked rematch against current No. 19 Kalamazoo Valley on Jan. 6 at 1 p.m.