News

By Ryan Schlehuber 

MCC sportswriter 

SIDNEY — The Montcalm Community College Centurions men’s basketball team is powering through what is perhaps its toughest stretch in the schedule, preparing for back-to-back games this weekend and going against a couple ranked opponents. 

The Centurions (6-4 overall), so far, have found some success but have stumbled a bit along the way, as well, as they try to find consistent cohesion among the 17 players on the roster, which includes 10 freshmen.  

MCC went 2-2 in its last four games, going 1-1 in a weekend tournament at home against Owens Community College, an 84-79 win, Nov. 29, and losing to No. 9-ranked Macomb Community College, 79-59, Nov. 30. The Centurions then lost a nail-biter to Marian University Ancilla, 79-76, Dec. 3, but rebounded with a solid 84-51 win over University of Olivet’s JV team, which was played at Central Montcalm High School in Stanton, Mich., Dec. 6. 

The Centurions are preparing for another weekend tournament, taking on No. 13-ranked South Suburban College (7-2 overall) Friday, Dec. 12, and then, the next day, MCC is taking on Oakton Community College (6-6 overall), which is on a three-game losing streak. Both games will be played at Grand Rapids Community College.  

MCC is fighting to stay above .500 and wins this weekend could go a long way in the Centurions’ momentum going into the Christmas break and coming back with another big game against Palm Beach Community College, which is 12-0 and is ranked second in the NJCAA Division II (as of Dec. 10). 

“We are a team that’s learning how to win,” MCC Assistant Coach Asher Vissman said.  

Part of that learning-on-the-go paid off against Owens, as MCC had a comfortable 44-27 lead in the first half but had to stave off a comeback by Owens, which outscored MCC in the second half, 52-40. Vissman said his team learned it has to continue a solid pace throughout the whole game.  

Vissman was proud of his team for not cracking under the pressure and letting a win slip by. 

“There will be a lot of little plays down the stretch that can result in a win,” he said. “It’s that type of effort all game long that results in a win. From that game, we know we can win close games. We’ve been in a handful already and needed to break through. We did that, now we build on it.” 

South Suburban will come into this game against MCC trying to get back into a winning groove as it snapped a seven-game winning streak after losing to Monroe College, 74-58, Dec. 6. Vissman said MCC has seen plenty of different looking teams, from Macomb, which was big and physical, to an unrelenting Ancilla team, which Vissman felt was one game his Centurions could’ve had. He believes these past few games have given MCC a lot of chances to grow and learn. 

“We had plenty of opportunities against Ancilla,” he said. “I felt our defense was solid and we ran our offense pretty well. But ultimately, we missed 17 free throws and lost by three. That was a really tough one to lose.” 

MCC had a chance to tie the game at the end, after trading baskets and fouling to manage the clock, but on their final possession, the Centurions could get a clean shot off.  

Against Olivet, however, Vissman said MCC worked out its offensive struggles, taking a 39-21 halftime lead and then keeping the pressure on in the second half, outscoring their opponent 45-30 to take an easy win. 

“I think we learned how to take a punch,” Vissman said. “We’ve had three heartbreaking losses this season by a total of 10 points. We are going to take what we’ve learned these last couple weeks and bring it to the next stretch of games.” 

The Centurions will be without their team leader, sophomore Taylen Carver (Louisville, Ky.), who suffered an injury during the weekend games against Macomb and Owens and has yet to come back. Vissman said he will be evaluated again soon.  

Carver last played in MCC’s loss to Macomb, Nov. 30, but couldn’t continue. Since then, the Centurions have had three different scoring leaders, with sophomore Zhian Briggs (Augusta, Ga.) scoring 11 against Macomb, sophomore Makur Reclow (Louisville, Ky.) scoring 18 in the loss to Ancilla and Trevor Zamarron (Greenville, Mich.) scored 14 points in MCC’s win over Olivet.  

With Carver out, Vissman said the Centurions will have to play as a complete team and rely on each other to cover the absence of Carver, who was the team’s leading scorer in five games so far this season, scoring more than 20 points four out of the five times. 

“The key to winning these next few games is to stay disciplined,” Vissman said. “We give our players a good game plan and the next step is to execute at a high level.” 

UP NEXT: MCC plays back-to-back this weekend, facing off against South Suburban College at 2 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 12 and then at 1 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 13, against Oakton Community College. Both games will be played at Grand Rapids Community College.