News

The Montcalm Community College Centurions men’s basketball team cruised to a 77-50 win over the Alpena Community College Lumberjacks Saturday, Jan. 18. 

MCC earned its second conference win with a total team effort, as all 11 players on the roster scored, with freshman guard Taylen Carver (Louisville, Ky.) leading the way with 19 points. He also had eight rebounds and four steals. 

Gabe Daniel (Erie, Mich.), a 6-foot, 8-inch-tall center for the Centurions (2-1 MCCAA Northern, 8-9 overall), who has averaged 2.7 rebounds per game, collected a season-high 12 rebounds against the Lumberjacks (0-3 MCCAA Northern, 1-11 overall), helping MCC outrebound Alpena, 44-31. 

The Centurions also dominated in the shooting department, going 54.9% on 28-of-51 shooting, compared to ACC’s 32.8%, 20-of-61 shooting, and in points in the paint, 30-16. 

One comparable team stat that stood out the most was the Centurions’ bench outscoring Alpena’s 32-6.  

The two MCCAA Northern foes went back and forth with ACC’s Xavier Blumberg pulling the Lumberjacks within a bucket after sinking a jump shot with 9:16 to go in the first half, making the score 22-20 in favor of MCC. 

But then MCC went on a 14-2 run that was sparked by a layup from freshman center Josiah DeMeester (Grandville, Mich.) at the 7:14 mark. The Lumberjacks went on a six-minute scoring drought, not scoring again until 49 seconds left in the half when ACC forward Alexander Gray made a put-back shot, making it 34-22. 

MCC guard Geronimo “Gero” Mozzi (Villa Ramallo, Argentina) capped off the first-half scoring for the Centurions with a three-point bucket with 24 seconds to go to give MCC a 13-point halftime lead. 

In the second half, Carver made it 45-26 MCC when he nailed one of his three three-point buckets with 17:27 to go in the game.  

Two minutes later, the Lumberjacks managed to cut the Centurions’ lead down to 15 after a three-point bucket by Chas Stanek, however, that was as close as ACC would ever get, as MCC would outscore Alpena 30-18 the rest of the way. 

The scoring run included two back-to-back three-pointers from freshman guard Jack Ruggles (Big Rapids, Mich.), which his last one made the score 72-46 with 4:56 left in the game. 

Along with Carver’s numbers, freshman forward Dawson Dunn (Big Rapids, Mich.) finished with nine points and four rebounds, freshman guard Dorian Allen (Winter Haven, Fla.) scored seven points and had four assists, and Ruggles finished with eight points. 

Mozzi led the team in assists with six and scored four points. 

With the home win, it marked the first time both the men’s team and women’s team won at home at the same time, with the women’s team beating Alpena, 50-35, prior to the men’s game. 

UP NEXT: MCC, a first-year program, has a three-game road trip ahead of them and, with that, a chance of getting its record to .500 if it can at least win two out of the three road games.  

The team’s next game is at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 22, at Muskegon Community College, which is 2-1 in the MCCAA Northern division and 9-8 overall, the toughest of the three road games by record. 

The Centurions then travel to Kirtland Community College for a 3 p.m. game Saturday, Jan. 25. KCC is 2-1 in the MCCAA Northern division and 3-6 overall. MCC finishes its road trip at Delta College, which is 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Delta is 1-2 in the MCCAA Northern and 6-10 overall.