News

By Ryan Schlehuber, MCC Sportswriter

It was their first taste of postseason play in their inaugural season at Montcalm Community College, but unfortunately for the Centurions, it was short-lived as they lost 87-75 to the Muskegon Community College Jayhawks Tuesday, March 4. 

MCC’s men’s basketball team finishes the season with a 6-8 record in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association’s Northern division and 12-17 overall.  

The No. 4-seed Centurions came into MCCAA’s Great Lakes District B Quarterfinals on a two-game losing streak, but motivation and hopes were riding high going into the program’s first postseason play in at least 40 years, with its athletics program on hiatus until it was reestablished this year.  

However, the No. 2-seeded Jayhawks (10-4 MCCAA Northern, 18-11 overall), who had swept the season series (a 77-65 win Feb. 17, and an 87-75 win March 4), had other plans for MCC.  

With a more-seasoned team, led by many sophomore starters and a deeper bench, it was easy to say Muskegon was the clear favorite coming into the game, but a young, charged-up and hungry Centurions team, led by head coach Zach Ingles, were determined to earn an upset victory in their first postseason appearance.  

Led by freshman guard Taylen Carver (Louisville, Ky.), who has averaged around 21 points a game, the Centurions got out to a 7-4 lead after Carver hit a layup and, after both teams went back and forth, took a 13-12 lead after freshman forward Makur Reclow (Louisville, Ky.) with 12:50 to go in the first half.  

Reclow would make it 19-18 MCC on a pair of free throws with 8:44 to go, which would end up being the last time MCC led in the game, though it made several comeback attempts leading up to the end of the game.  

The Jayhawks took the lead for good when LaMarkis Graham nailed a three-pointer to give Muskegon a 24-21 lead with 6:31 to go. They would go on a 13-3 run over the next four minutes, which was capped with a Will Chye three-point make at the 2:32 mark.  

The Jayhawks took a 41-32 lead going into halftime.  

“That has been the theme in the three games against them for us, we would be ahead and then let our guard down,” Ingles said of his team’s first-half performance. “In the second half, we were forced to play catch-up, and we haven’t shown to be good at that this year.” 

In the second half, the Centurions cut the Jayhawks’ lead to five — 48-43 — after sophomore guard Geronimo Mozzi (Villa Ramallo, Argentina) knocked down a jump shot four minutes into the half, but that was as close as MCC could get.  

Muskegon pushed its lead to 15 after Chye hit another three-pointer with 11:07 to go, but MCC managed another small comeback, cutting the lead to 64-57 with a three-pointer by Carver with 8:23 left. Still, MCC just couldn’t keep Muskegon’s offense in check for long. 

“They’re a good team and well coached,” Ingles said of Muskegon. “They’re a really tough match-up because they have more players who are bigger and taller than us. That’s something we need to address in the offseason.” 

The Jayhawks pushed its lead back to double digits three minutes later when Darius Williams nailed a jump shot, making it 73-62. However, MCC made one last comeback effort, cutting Muskegon’s lead to 81-75 when Reclow rebounded a Carver three-point miss and put back a two-point shot with 1:27 to go. 

Muskegon, however, scored the final seven points of the game, closing out MCC’s season, as the Jayhawks move on to play in the Great Lakes District B semifinals against Kalamazoo Valley Community College.  

Carver finished with a game-high 32 points, followed by freshman guard Mason Dunn (Big Rapids, Mich.) with 23 points, who also added nine rebounds. Reclow finished just shy of a double-double, scoring 11 points and collecting eight rebounds.  

The Jayhawks were led by Joe Russau who had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Chye with 19 points and seven rebounds and Williams, who had 18 points and four rebounds.  

Each team shot over 40% from the field, with MCC shooting 46.9% (30-of-64) and Muskegon shooting 43.9% (29-of-66). The Jayhawks had the advantage in free throws, 19-of-24 to MCC’s 8-of-13, and rebounds, 42-26, as well as assists, 24-7. MCC had a 21-8 second-chance points advantage. 

MCC outscored Muskegon in the paint, 30-20, and won the bench scoring battle, 16-7. 

Ingles said he was proud of his team and what they were able to accomplish in their first year of competition, especially with all but one player being freshmen.  

“I talked with my coaches about this roster and we all agreed we got every single drop we could out of these guys,” Ingles said. “We accomplished a lot with what we could.”