PORT HURON, Mich. – No. 9 Macomb Men's Basketball played its third ranked opponent in as many days on Saturday (Nov. 22) when they battled No. 17 Monroe (N.Y.) for the Thumbcoast Championship in Port Huron. A late lead would slip away as the 17^th ranked Tribunes won it on a go-ahead basket with three seconds remaining by a final score of 70-68.
 
At 2-3 on the young season, all three of the Monarchs' losses have come within the final three seconds of the contest. The Tribunes improved to 9-1 on the year with the last second victory.
 
Deadlocked at the half, 29-29, the Monarchs and Tribunes were engaged in a defensive slugfest before the offenses picked up toward the end of the contest. The Monarchs led by as many as 12, but foul trouble and missed free throws opened the door for the Tribunes' comeback.
 
Malachi Irving paced the Monarchs with a career-high 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor and an 8-of-10 clip from the charity stripe.
 
Lajuan Holloway followed with 13 points and seven rebounds and Keithan Gilmore notched a career-best 11 points to go along with a new career-high in rebounds with nine.
 
The Monarchs are back in action next weekend (Nov. 29-30) at the Montcalm Community College Shootout.