MCC Men Clinch Home Playoff Game; Defeat Kellogg CC 90-66 on the Road
The Jayhawks, now in third place with an 11-4 record, still have a chance to move into second place currently held by Grand Rapids CC with a 11-3 mark and two games left. MCC closes out the regular season at home Saturday with a 3 p.m. tilt against Glens Oaks CC in Bartels-Rode Gymnasium. “It’s a tribute to this team,” said MCC Assistant Coach Anthony Parker. “I can’t remember the last time that Muskegon had a first round home game in the playoffs. We moved the ball well early which got us going. Our defense and our rebounding were the keys.” Kulawanie Saunders (Minneapolis, MN/Millennium) netted a team-leading 19 points. Mike Stoll (Kent City, MI/Kent City), a top five national shot blocker, added six more to surpass the 100 mark for the season. He scored 18 points and hauled in 11 rebounds. Cody Kleeves (Grand Rapids, MI/Comstock Park) added 17 points and Isaah Law (Grand Haven, MI/Grand Haven) chipped in 15 tallies. Luke Ghiardi (Gwinn, MI/Gwinn) handed out seven assists. The Jayhawks, who led 50-30 at halftime, shot 36-of-74 from the field and made 12-of-16 from the free throw line for the game.
MCC Women Hold Off Kellogg CC 65-61
MCC’s Jazmyne Good (Windsor, ONT/John Forster) scored a team-high 23 points, while teammate Sudan Saunders (Grand Rapids, MI/Catholic Central) added 12 points. Coiya Wiley (Flint, MI/Southwestern) had five steals and teammates Lindsey Burnside (Spring Lake, MI/Grand Haven) and Samantha Zimmer (Muskegon, MI/Reeths Puffer) each grabbed 10 rebounds for the Jayhawks, who are now 8-7 in the conference and 18-10 overall. “The game was really kind of tense,” said MCC Assistant Coach Sandra Bush. “Kellogg is battling for the seventh seed. They match up better against us than any of the other teams in the league.” MCC closes out the regular season at home Saturday at 1 p.m. against Glen Oaks CC in Bartels-Rode Gymnasium.
MCC Men Knock Off Grand Rapids CC 80-73
The third place Jayhawks, at 10-4 in the league, inched closer to second place GRCC, now 10-3, with the victory. “We’re really trying to win out here,” said MCC Coach Dave Schlump. “We want to improve our position for home court. At this time of the year, we’re just trying to take care of business. We have to treat every game as a playoff atmosphere game. “ The Jayhawks took the lead for good, 18-17, on a Cody Kleeves (Grand Rapids, MI/Comstock Park) three-pointer 10 minutes into the game. Kleeves scored all of his 18 points in the initial half, including a half-court shot at the buzzer for a 37-32 edge.
“Free throws are just one of those things,” said Schlump. “At this time of year, your legs get tired. What I liked was we didn’t panic when they made those runs at us. We came out with a resolve of we’re going to win the game. If we’re good enough to extend it on them, then we’re good enough to win the game. I like that resolve. “ One of the nation’s most prolific shot blockers, Stoll swatted away nine GRCC field goal attempts to boost his season total to 99 – fourth best in the nation. He had nine points and nine rebounds. Law, meanwhile, scored a team-high 23 points and Kulawanie Saunders (Minneapolis, MN/Millennium) added 14 points. Steven Ray, Jr. (Michigan City, IN/Washington) added nine points and seven assists.
MCC Women Defeat Grand Rapids CC 66-54
MCC, which never trailed in the game, opened its widest margin of the first half with its 36-26 lead at intermission. Saunders netted 16 points in both halves, while Samantha Zimmer (Muskegon, MI/Reeths-Puffer) scored her 10 points in the initial half, including a game-opening three-pointer. “Sam had an awesome game,” said MCC Coach Ron Jenkins, whose plan included attacking GRCC inside the paint. “She played confidently and it showed. She told me before the game that she was going to make her first shot. “
MCC opened a 14-point lead early in the second half, but GRCC made a 19-7 run to close within 51-49 at the 7:30 mark. The Jayhawks responded with their own 14-3 run to cruise to the victory. Chasadie Thornton (Muskegon, MI/Mona Shores) had seven assist and five steals while directing the MCC offense. “She settling down and doing the things we want her to do at this point in the season,” said Jenkins.”We’re seeing some positive things as a team. We still have some things to work on but we’re taking it one game at a time as we move toward the regionals.” |
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL MCC 65, Kellogg CC 61 MEN’S BASKETBALL MCC 90, Kellogg CC 66
Friday, Feb. 24 WRESTLING TBA –MCC at NJCAA National Championship, Rochester, MN
Saturday, Feb. 25 WRESTLING TBA –MCC at NJCAA National Championship, Rochester, MN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 1 p.m. – MCC vs. GLEN OAKS CC, Bartels-Rode Gymnasium MEN’S BASKETBALL 3 p.m. – MCC vs. GLEN OAKS CC, Bartels-Rode Gymnasium
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Athletics
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The MCC men’s basketball team clinched a first round home playoff game on March 6 after downing Kellogg CC 90-66 in Battle Creek, Mich., on Wednesday night.
In a tight played contest, the MCC women’s basketball squad held off a late game rally by tenacious host Kellogg CC for a 65-61 win on Wednesday night in Battle Creek, Mich.
Getting key contributions form a number of players, the MCC men’s basketball team hung on to the lead through the final three quarters of Friday night’s contest to defeat Grand Rapids CC 80-73 at Bartels-Rode Gymnasium.
GRCC kept to within 10 points for most of the game before cutting the Jayhawks’ lead to two points, 73-71, with 1:26 left. Matt Stoll (Kent City, MI/Kent City) and Isiah Law (Grand Haven, MI/Grand Haven) hit three and two free throws, respectively, down the stretch to clinch the win. The hosts only connected on 18-of-35 free throws to keep the game much closer than it might have been.
The visiting Grand Rapids CC women’s basketball squad was unable to stop MCC’s Sudan Saunders (Grand Rapids, MI/Catholic Central) who scored 32 points while shooting 68 percent from the floor in the Jayhawks’ 66-54 victory on Friday night in Bartels-Rode Gymnasium.
Zimmer grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds and Lindsey Burnside (Spring Lake, MI/Grand Haven) hauled down another 10 caroms.