HIGHLIGHTS // TOURNAMENT BRACKET

WARREN, Mich. – No. 8 Macomb Men's Basketball held off a spirited Wayne County team to earn a 67-64 win Tuesday (March 7) in the quarterfinals of the NJCAA Region XII Great Lakes District C Tournament. The win lifts the Monarchs into the semifinals against the MCCAA North No. 2 seed, Mid Michigan College, Friday (March 10) at 11:30 a.m. The winner of Friday's semifinal will move on the tournament championship Sunday at 12 p.m.

The semifinals and championship will be played at Mott Community College. The winner of the tournament earns a berth into the NJCAA Division II National Championship March 21-25 in Danville, Ill.

On Tuesday, the Monarchs fended off the Wildcats with big plays down the stretch to secure the three-point win. The Monarchs led by as many as 14 points in the second half before having to overcome a late Wildcats surge to survive and advance.

Down three in the waning minutes, the Monarchs clamped down and held the Wildcats to three points over the final 4:22 of the game. Big plays by several Monarchs, including Jaylen Daughtery (Oak Park, Mich./Ferndale), Juwan Maxey (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance), Aidan Rubio (Flint, Mich./Goodrich/DME Academy) and Tymias Williams (Macomb, Mich./Dakota), helped the Blue & White end the game on a 9-3 run.

Daughtery stepped to the line with 2:22 remaining and made a pair of key free throws to give the Monarchs the lead for good, while Rubio and Williams combined for six of the team's final nine points. 

Williams led the Monarchs with 17 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, while Maxey and Rubio followed with 14 points and 12 points, respectively. Linden Holder (Warren, Mich./De La Salle) checked in with eight points, four rebounds and three assists and Daughtery posted a stat line of six points, six rebounds and three steals. Tamario Adley (Detroit, Mich./De La Salle) led the Monarchs in assists with six.

Can't make it to Mott? Watch live on Mott's YouTube page here.