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Nothing cures a funk coming off a loss than a win on the road, which the Montcalm Community College Centurions men’s basketball did Wednesday, Feb. 11, beating the Muskegon Community College Jayhawks, 79-64.
The win gets the Centurions (7-3 MCCAA Northern, 14-10 overall) back in a tie for second place with Bay College (7-3 MCCAA Northern, 18-6 overall) in the conference and a game ahead of Kirtland Community College (6-4 MCCAA Northern, 7-15 overall).
Coming off last Saturday’s disappointing 59-48 loss to Bay College at home, MCC was in must-win mode and will most likely have to win its last four games of the regular season to keep any hopes of earning a conference title alive. Mid Michigan College leads the conference with a 10-0 record currently.
Against the Jayhawks (4-6 MCCAA Northern, 10-13 overall), the Centurions shot out to a 27-6 lead in the first half capped off with a 3-pointer make by sophomore Mason Dunn (Big Rapids, Mich.), which was set up by a pass from freshman Javen Medaris (Indianapolis, Ind.).
The Centurions went into halftime with a comfortable 48-27 lead.
“The guys had a great response after the loss to Bay,” MCC assistant coach Asher Vissman said. “We practiced hard leading up to this game and everyone contributed tonight.”
Vissman said MCC’s successful first half was set up by some offensive adjustments with the focus of getting to the basket.
“That really opened up things for us in that first half,” he said. “We stuck with the game plan in the second half. We got off to a slower start, but eventually we turned it on and took care of business.”
With 12:19 left in the game, Muskegon cut the lead to 15 after Jayhawks’ David Cross took a Ny’Zhem Marshall pass for a layup, making it 52-37. Things got a little more interesting two minutes later when Jamarion Taylor’s layup pulled Muskegon within 11 points. However, freshman James Browning (Fort Wayne, Ind.), who came off the bench to score 14 points and collect 11 rebounds, put in a layup and was fouled seconds later to answer for MCC. With his free throw, he pushed MCC’s lead to 58-45 with 10:12 to go.
Browning’s double-double was the result of hard work that he’s shown all season, according to Vissman.
“James was working incredibly hard on the glass tonight,” Vissman said. “He’s relentless. Rebounding is his elite skill and he showed that tonight. I’m very impressed with him.”
Browning was just happy to contribute to a badly needed win for his Centurions team.
“It feels great to get a double-double,” Browning said. “I’m just happy I was able to help my team get a win. I think the paint is my area and my teammates were feeding me the ball and I was able to finish successfully.”
Freshman Jahmere Evans (Indianapolis, Ind.) pushed the Centurions’ lead back to 20 with a 3-point shot with 7:41 to go. From there, Muskegon was unable to get any closer than 14 points.
“This was a big win,” Vissman said. “We needed to go out there, hit some shots and get back in the win column.”
Browning is hoping his team continues rolling like it did against the Jayhawks.
“I think we did a good job here tonight. I think if we keep playing team ball and playing defense and grabbing rebounds, we should be OK because we have some good shooters on our team. I’m really proud of what we have accomplished so far.”
Browning’s 14 points was a team high, which sophomore teammate Mason Dunn matched, going 4-for-6 from the 3-point line. He also had six rebounds and three blocks. His twin brother, Dawson Dunn (Big Rapids, Mich.), scored 11 points and had four rebounds.
UP NEXT: The Centurions will host the Alpena Community College Lumberjacks (0-10 MCCAA Northern, 1-19 overall), who are currently on a 15-game losing streak. MCC defeated Alpena in their first matchup, 75-57, at Alpena, Jan. 17.