WARREN, Mich. – After opening MCCAA Eastern Conference play on the losing end, the Macomb Men's Basketball team has won four straight and has vaulted into a tie for first place in the league. The  streaking Monarchs will look to stay hot this week when they travel to Wayne County Community College District on Wednesday (Jan. 28) at 7:30 p.m. before hosting Jackson College on Saturday (Jan. 31) at 3 p.m. from the Matthaei Center in Detroit. 
 
The Monarchs enter the week with an 11-9 overall record and 4-1 mark in MCCAA East play. The 4-1 record in the MCCAA East is good for a tie atop the standings with Henry Ford College.
 
A LOOK AT WAYNE COUNTY: The Wildcats are 8-9 overall and 1-3 in conference play, most recently suffering an 87-85 overtime loss to St. Clair County Community College last Saturday. They are averaging 75.2 points per game as a team and have held leads late in all three, narrow conference losses.
 
The offense is led by Rahim Alvarade, who averages 22.1 points per contest to rank fourth in both the MCCAA and Region 12. Wayne County also has a pair of freshmen who can score in Ryan Hatcher (12.0 PPG) and Julian Young (11.6 PPG). Hatcher is the team's leading rebounder with 5.1 per night. 
 
Wayne County is led by longtime head coach Rogeric Turner. 
 
A LOOK AT JACKSON: Jackson has posted a 2-18 overall record and 0-5 mark in league action entering the week. The Jets last victory came on Dec. 1st when they defeated the Olivet JV team, 81-67. They most recently lost 84-66 to Mott Community College on Saturday. 
 
Maurice Causey leads the team in scoring with 19.2 points per game while the offense tallies 74.3 points per contest. Terence Burton averages a team-best 6.3 rebounds per contest while Talan Hutchinson averages 5.0 assists per game. Hutchinson's 99 assists this season ranks fifth in the MCCAA and sixth in Region 12. 
 
The Jets are led by head coach Chris Johnston.
 
A LOOK AT MACOMB: The Monarchs earned their fourth consecutive win Saturday with an 86-78 victory over No. 17 Oakland Community College at Wayne State University's Matthaei Center in Detroit. 
 
Caron Williams led the way for Macomb with a 19 points, three rebounds and three assists. Joey Angok, the reigning MCCAA Eastern Conference Player of the Week, followed up his career day last Wednesday with 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while Keithan Gilmore registered 12 points. Malachi Irving, Jaylon Jackson and Donald Wilburn chipped in nine points each. Both Wilburn and Irving grabbed six boards in the hard-fought win. Justin Gloster netted six points and Tabari Howard added four points, five assists and a block. 
 
On the season, Williams leads the team offensively with 14.1 points per contest. Angok is averaging 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds, while Howard is averaging 6.5 rebounds per game along with a team-leading 3.8 assists per night. 
 
Christopher Burns' team averages 75.3 points and 41.1 rebounds per game. 
 
LAST SEASON: The Monarchs swept the Wildcats last season to run their winning streak in the series to nine straight. Wayne County last defeated the Monarchs in March 2021. 
 
The series history is a similar story with Jackson, as the Monarchs swept last year's meetings to make it 12 wins in a row over the Jets. Jackson's last victory over Macomb occurred in November 2013. 
 
LIVE COVERAGE: Wednesday's live stream will be provided by the host Wildcats and can be found here. Tom Cavanaugh will return to the call Saturday and will be joined by Noah Drury on MacombMonarchs.com/Watch. Live stats will be available for both games here.

UP NEXT: The Monarchs open the second half of MCCAA East play on Feb. 4 at 7:30 p.m. against No. 17 Schoolcraft College. The game will take place at the Wayne State University Matthaei Center.