FREEPORT, Ill. – Not their day. No. 9 Macomb Men's Basketball dropped both games on Friday (Dec. 12) at the William R. Bear/Dimond Bros. Insurance Tournament, the first coming to NJCAA Division I No. 15 Moberly Area Community College by a 79-62 final and the latter coming on a last-second basket in a 60-58 setback to NJCAA DI Sauk Valley Community College.
 
With the losses, the Monarchs will play at 4 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. CT on Saturday against the loser of Community College of Lake County and NJCAA DII No. 25 Rock Valley College.
 
GAME ONE: DI No. 15 Moberly Area 79, No. 9 Macomb 62
 
The opening 15 minutes of action was a seesaw battle that resulted in the Monarchs being in front, 27-24, following a scoring barrage by sophomore guard Malachi Irving. Following back-to-back triples by Irving, the Monarchs went cold for the remainder of the half as the 15^th ranked Greyhounds went on a 20-0 run to account for the difference in the contest.
 
The 20-0 burst saw the Monarchs' 27-24 lead flip to a 44-27 deficit as the Greyhounds took a 46-29 advantage into the halftime locker room.
 
Both teams exchanged baskets in an even second half as the cold five-minute stretch doomed the Monarchs in a battle against their latest ranked opponent.
 
Irving paced the Monarch attack with 18 points while Lajuan Holloway and Dante Wimberly added 11 points each.
 
GAME TWO: Sauk Valley 60, No. 9 Macomb 58
 
A 13-point halftime lead was not enough as the Monarchs fell on a Sauk Valley basket with 4.3 seconds remaining in the 60-58 final. The go-ahead bucket marked Sauk Valley's first lead since the 15:10 mark of the opening half.
 
The Monarchs, playing without the services of Caron Williams, led by double digits for the majority of the contest before Sauk Valley chipped away and eventually took the lead on a putback with 4.3 seconds remaining.
 
Irving and Simon Stockwell led the Monarchs with 10 points each. The 10-point outing marked a new career-high for Stockwell.