HIGHLIGHTS
DEARBORN, Mich. – A back-and-forth battle ended in a buzzer-beating defeat for No. 6 Macomb Men's Basketball Saturday (Feb. 11) as the host and third-ranked Henry Ford Hawks sank a 3-pointer as time expired to win, 71-68. The loss sends the Monarchs to 18-6 overall and 6-3 in the MCCAA East. The Hawks are 9-0 in the MCCAA East and 18-4 overall.
At 6-3 in conference, the Monarchs are in sole possession of second place, one game ahead of Mott Community College and St. Clair County Community College (SC4). Mott and SC4 check in at 5-4 in league play and are the Monarchs next two opponents (both at home).
As part of a back-and-forth battle throughout, the Monarchs and Hawks exchanged the lead nine times and played to a tie game on six occasions. The Monarchs led 68-66 with under 40 seconds remaining before a Hawk bucket tied it with 33 seconds left on the second half clock. A late turnover with four seconds left allowed the Hawks to get the ball back where they ultimately got their final shot to drop as time expired.
The offensive glass and free throws doomed the Monarchs as the Hawks grabbed 20 offensive boards for a 27-7 advantage in second chance points. The Monarchs shot 10-of-17 from the free throw line and missed a few key front end opportunities on one-and-one situations in the late stages of the game.
Juwan Maxey (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) was impressive throughout and led the Monarchs with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including a 4-of-7 effort from downtown.
Tymias Williams (Macomb, Mich./Dakota) posted a double-double with 15 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, while
Tamario Adley (Detroit, Mich./De La Salle) finished with 14 points.
Aidan Rubio (Flint, Mich./Goodrich/DME Academy) had nine points, seven rebounds and a team-high three assists and
Linden Holder (Warren, Mich./De La Salle) checked in with seven points and six rebounds.
The sixth-ranked Monarchs return home to host No. 18 Mott Wednesday (Feb. 15) at 7:30 p.m. The game will be the first of two against ranked opponents at home next week as No. 17 SC4 visits on Saturday for a 3 p.m. tip-off.
