MBB Preview: Great Lakes District C Tournament

FLINT, Mich. – The No. 14 Mid Michigan College men's basketball team will look to bounce back this week following their loss to Macomb in the MCCAA State Semifinals at Kalamazoo Valley. Mid has earned the No. 1 seed in the upcoming NJCAA Region 12 Great Lakes District C Tournament. 

The Lakers will battle Lansing, Glen Oaks, Macomb, and Lakeland (Ohio) for a bid to the NJCAA National Tournament March 17th-22nd in Danville, Illinois. The District Tournament will begin Tuesday, March 4th, with a quarterfinal game between Lansing and Glen Oaks. The winner of Tuesday's game will play the Lakers in the semifinals on Thursday (March 6th) at 9am, with the second semifinal between Macomb and Lakeland to follow at 11am. Both semifinals and the final will be played on the campus of Mott Community College at Ballenger Fieldhouse.

SCOUTING LANSING: LCC enters the week 17-12 overall and 9-5 in MCCAA Western Conference play. The Stars most recently won their regular season finale on Feb. 25th, defeating GRCC 114-78. Zander Woodruff had a monster game for Lansing as he scored 45 points on 20-of-27 shooting. Zane Kemp added 23 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, while Ben Smith posted 21 points. Woodruff leads NJCAA D2 in scoring with 30.6 points per game. 

SCOUTING GLEN OAKS: The Vikings finished the regular season 15-13 overall and 8-6 in the MCCAA West. Glen Oaks split the season series with Lansing, as they won 86-68 on Jan. 11th, before falling 91-74 on Feb. 5th. Darrius Roach is the player to watch for the Vikings as he averaged 16.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game during the regular season. Amauri Moore is another player to watch with 11.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest. Aaron Humphrey Jr. averaged 11.8 points per game in 23 games played, while Mike Phillips averaged 11 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists a night. 

SCOUTING MACOMB: The most familiar opponent in the bracket for Mid, No. 8 Macomb is 25-5 overall and 11-3 in the MCCAA Eastern Conference. The Monarchs and Lakers have met three times this year so far, including last weekend in the MCCAA State Semifinals. After taking down the Lakers 108-96 on Friday night, Macomb played host Kalamazoo Valley for the MCCAA Championship on Saturday. No. 7 KVCC defeated the Monarchs 93-85. In the two earlier meetings, Macomb defeated Mid 106-98 at Morey Courts on Nov. 16th, before the Lakers earned revenge on Dec. 6th with an 88-80 overtime victory. Most recently against the Cougars, Josh Hines led Macomb with 24 points and three assists, while Marlon Williams had 17 points and 13 rebounds. DeMaryon Fishburn had an all-around game with 12 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, while Jotham Nweke also had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. 

SCOUTING LAKELAND: The Lakeland Lakers finished the regular season 19-7 overall and 13-3 in the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC). They most recently defeated Clark State 105-79 on Saturday. Devin Belle leads the team in scoring with 23.9 points while also pulling down 6.0 rebounds per contest. Aaron Ward averages 17.8 points and a team high 8.1 rebounds per night. Adam Williams dishes out a team best 4.4 assists per contest. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Last Friday against the Monarchs, James Wright led the Lakers with 28 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. Amonti Greene had 24 points and five assists, while De'Antre Griffin added 16 points. Joe Iung posted 12 points and recorded four steals.  Wright leads Mid overall with 21.9 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Greene dishes out a team high 3.8 assists per game, while Iung averages 2.2 steals per night. 

UP NEXT: The Great Lakes District C Championship game is set for Saturday (March 8th) at 11am inside Ballenger Fieldhouse on the campus of Mott Community College.