News

By Ryan Schlehuber 

MCC sportswriter

SIDNEY — In an effort to keep pace with the two top dogs in the MCCAA Northern Conference, the Montcalm Community College Centurions men’s basketball team knew a win against Alpena Community College was a must.  

With a suffocating defense, the Centurions (2-1 MCCAA North, 9-8 overall) earned their second conference win by beating the Lumberjacks, 75-57, at Alpena, Saturday, Jan. 17, keeping pace with Mid Michigan, 3-0 in the North, and Bay College, which is 3-1 in the conference.  

“Our execution on defense won it for us,” MCC assistant coach Asher Vissman said. “Anytime you hold a college basketball team under 60 points, you’re giving yourself a great chance to win.” 

Statistics for both teams were quite even, with MCC shooting 43.5% from the field and ACC shooting 45.1%, while MCC had a slight edge in rebounds (34 to ACC’s 32). The one stat that stuck out, however, was turnovers, as the Lumberjacks committed 24 to the Centurions’ 13.  

“Protecting the basketball is always a focus,” Vissman said. “Our offense is predicated on execution, which we have been pretty good at this season.” 

With MCC leading 19-15 halfway through the first half, freshman Sebastion Kamalzadeh (West Palm Beach, Fla.) nailed a three-point shot to give MCC’s its biggest lead in the game at that point. MCC built it up to a 34-19 lead with back-to-back three-pointers by freshman Trevor Zamarron (Greenville, Mich.) and sophomore Mason Dunn (Big Rapids, Mich.) with just over three minutes to go, forcing Alpena to take a timeout.  

MCC went into halftime leading 38-26.  

ACC’s Derian Williams managed to cut MCC’s lead to eight (40-32) after sinking a jump shot four minutes into the second half, however, the Lumberjacks (0-4 MCCAA North, 1-13 overall) couldn’t hold back MCC’s offense, which went on a run, starting with sophomore Josiah DeMeester (Grandville, Mich.) who answered with a dunk, igniting a 15-4 scoring run that gave MCC a solid lead.  

MCC pushed its lead to 21 after a free throw by freshman James Browning (Fort Wayne, Ind.) with 10:38 to go, however, ACC managed to cut MCC’s lead to 64-51 when Oluwatobi Ogunyode scored on a dunk with 5:42 to go, giving the Lumberjacks hope for a comeback.  

The Centurions, however, kept up its offensive output, with sophomore Dawson Dunn (Big Rapids, Mich.) nailing a jump shot to push the lead to 66-51 with 5:04 to go. MCC would outscore the Lumberjacks 11-6 the rest of the way to earn the conference win. 

The Centurions were led by Dawson, who scored a game-high 16 points and six steals. It was the second time in three games he was the team’s leading scorer. 

“Daws has been great,” Vissman said. “He’s playing at a really high level on both ends of the floor right now.” 

Dunn said he has worked hard to focus on his offense and has been pleased with how effective it has been lately. 

“I’ve been focusing extremely hard on scoring the ball and knocking down shots,” he said. “I knew how big this stretch of games were and how much the team needed my offense.” 

Dunn said his team was confident going into the game against the Lumberjacks, however head coach Zach Ingles told them to keep sharp and to never overlook an opponent. 

“Coach kept emphasizing being us with every little detail,” Dawson said. “Treating every team like they are the No. 1 team in the country.” 

With winnable games coming in the next five games, Vissman and the rest of the coaching staff are focused on going on a run. 

“Our goal is to go on a winning streak,” Vissman said. “But it’s one game at a time, and it’s about giving each team our full focus and attention.” 

Dunn agreed. 

“We just have to keep bringing crazy energy and competitiveness every day in practice,” he said. 

Browning followed Dunn in scoring, with 11 points off the bench and Kamalzadeh, Zamarron and sophomore Zhian Briggs (Augusta, Ga.) each finishing with nine points. Four Centurions led the team with five rebounds each.  

UP NEXT: MCC’s next three games are at home, starting with Kirtland Community College (2-1 MCCAA North, 3-12 overall) Saturday, Jan. 24. Game time is at 3 p.m. The Centurions will then make up a home game against Muskegon College, Monday, Jan. 26 (game time at 7:30 p.m.). The game was postponed twice owing to inclement weather. 

The third home game will be against Delta College (1-3 MCCAA North, 4-11 overall) on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 7:30 p.m.