WARREN, Mich. – The No. 9 Macomb Men's Basketball team is playing in their first tournament of the year this week, traveling to Port Huron for the Thumb Coast Tip-Off Classic hosted by St. Clair County Community College.
 
The Monarchs open the tournament at 1 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 20) against No. 22 Bryant & Stratton College (Wis.). The Monarchs will face either Marian University Plymouth or No. 1 Parkland College on Friday. All games will be played at the SC4 Fieldhouse with play wrapping up on Saturday.  
 
SCOUTING BRYANT & STRATTON WISCONSIN: The Bobcats enter the weekend 5-2 overall, with their two losses to No. 23 Illinois Central College and No. 14 Mid Michigan College. The Bobcats most recently earned an 80-38 victory at Harper College on Tuesday night. 
 
Sophomore Demajh Salisbury leads the team in scoring with 13.2 points per game. Jaylen Murphy posts 10.7 points per night while Karter Seawright is averaging 9.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks per contest. Vontez Dent is the team's leading rebounder with 8.4 per game. 
 
A LOOK AT MACOMB: The Monarchs are 0-2 with both losses coming in the final second of each game. Macomb suffered a 73-72 defeat on the road last Wednesday to Edison State on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. They opened their season with a 74-72 loss to NJCAA DI No. 4 Vincennes University—now ranked No. 1 in NJCAA DI—with that setback coming in the final second. 
 
Through two games, Caron Williams leads the Monarchs in scoring with 18.0 points per game. Donald Wilburn is next, averaging 13.5 points and adding 5.0 rebounds per contest. Lajaun Holloway has posted 12.0 points and a team-best 5.5 rebounds per game, while Malachi Irving is averaging 11.5 points per game. 
 
Despite the losses, the Monarchs remain a respected team in the NJCAA DII rankings, coming in at No. 9 in Monday's (Nov. 17) rankings.
 
LIVE COVERAGE: Live stats will be available throughout the weekend and will be linked on the men's basketball schedule page. Live stream coverage is available via SC4 here but there is a $7.95 per day charge to watch.
 
UP NEXT: Following their three-game stint at the Thumb Coast Classic, the Monarchs will be back in action Thanksgiving weekend when they travel to Montcalm Community College for a pair of games. The Monarchs will take on Grand Rapids Community College Saturday (Nov. 29) at 5 p.m. before wrapping up the weekend the following day against the host Centurions at 1 p.m.