AUBURN HILLS – Not their day. No. 4 Macomb Men's Basketball suffered its first regulation loss of the 2024-25 campaign on Saturday (Jan. 25) as the host and receiving votes Owls of Oakland Community College won by an 83-80 final. The loss drops the Monarchs into a first place tie with the Owls at 4-1 in the MCCAA East.
 
The Blue & White ended the day at 17-2 overall on the season.
 
After trailing at the half by a narrow 42-39 margin, the Monarchs were able to regain the lead in what was a back-and-forth second half before the hosts secured the win late.
 
Ball security and free throw shooting proved to play a big factor as Monarchs doubled the turnovers committed by the Owls, 18-9, and missed nine of their 31 attempts at the charity stripe in the tight contest compared to the Owls' 17-of-19 effort from the line.
 
Marlon Williams had 16 points and eight rebounds to pace a balanced Monarch effort, while DaMaryon Fishburn followed closely on the offensive end with 15 points. Jalen Jenkins and Josh Hines closed out the leading scorers for the Monarchs with 12 points each. Jenkins hauled in seven rebounds to finish one shy of the team-high by [Marlon] Williams and dished out a team-leading four assists.
 
The Monarchs return to action Wednesday (Jan. 29) at home opposite Wayne County Community College. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Sports & Expo Center.