AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Champions of the East! For the fifth time in program history, Macomb Men's Basketball has earned the distinction of being called conference champions after earning a share of the MCCAA Eastern Conference title with an 85-82 road victory over OCC Wednesday (Feb. 21). The win lifted the sixth-ranked Monarchs to 22-3 overall and 11-1 in the MCCAA East.
A win on Saturday will secure the program's third ever outright conference title (second in the last three seasons, 2021-22). A Monarch win on Saturday also secures the top seed out of the Eastern Conference and will send the Blue & White to the MCCAA Championship (March 1 & 2) played at the site of the North Conference Champion. Bay College, located in Escanaba, is currently favored to host the two-day title event.
MCCAA Championship: The MCCAA Championship brings the three conference champions (East, North and West) together to crown the 2023-24 MCCAA Champion. The east champion will play the west champion, Kalamazoo Valley Community College, on Friday (March 1) with the winner taking on the north champion on March 2. The MCCAA Championship has no implications for the upcoming NJCAA Division II Great Lakes District Championships and is a stand-alone tournament to crown a champion of the MCCAA.
Great Lakes District Championship: A win Saturday places the Monarchs in the Great Lakes District B bracket as the East No. 1 seed. The Monarchs would play the winner of the North No. 3 vs. North No. 4 matchup on March 8 at Mott Community College. The winner of the March 8 contest will move on to the Great Lakes District B Championship on March 10 at Mott CC. Game times TBA.
As for Wednesday, the Monarchs led by as many as 21 points before a hot-shooting OCC team got back into the contest late. Showcasing their championship mettle, the Monarchs staved off a Raider upset bid to earn the right to be called Champions of the East for the second time in three seasons.
Juwan Maxey (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) put his all-around game on showcase once again with an impressive stat line of 15 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals. The double-double (near triple-double) was Maxey's third of the season.
Nate Brown (Flint, Mich./Davison) and
Justin James (Sterling Heights, Mich./Sterling Heights) followed Maxey in the scoring column with 14 points each. Brown added five rebounds and five assists as part of a well-rounded effort and James grabbed four boards to go along with four assists.
Kyle Millender (Detroit, Mich./DEPSA) was just shy of a double-double with a balanced stat line of his own: 12 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Tate MacKenzie (Ypsilanti, Mich./Lincoln) recorded 11 points and added five rebounds to round out five Monarchs in double figures.
Saturday's Sophomore Day game is slated to begin at 3 p.m. with the sophomore ceremony scheduled for five minutes prior to tip-off.
