The Western Division of the MCCAA in Men's Basketball this season is a gauntlet, and the Marian University Ancilla Men are trying to navigate that as best as possible. Saturday afternoon pitted them against the 8th ranked Cougars of Kalamazoo Valley, in Kalamazoo, and the Chargers fell behind early but battled back to narrow the margin to 84-72 by the game's end.
The Chargers came out aggressive with Sophomores Jayden Sanders and Dante Porch, plus Freshman Davione Doty, helping them to a 12-9 lead just a few minutes into the game. But by the time you had blinked twice, the Cougars battled back and jumped out to a 51-32 halftime lead, using their pressure defense and transition offense as the main catalysts.
The Cougars are well-known for their offensive prowess and ability to score well into the 100s this year, so for the Chargers to come out after halftime and hold Kalamazoo Valley to just 33 points was a nice end to an otherwise tough day. Marian Ancilla also won the second half, if moral victories matter, by a 40-33 margin, which is encouraging considering these teams meet again on February 19th in Plymouth.
Porch led the Chargers in scoring with 24 points, including a 10-18 shooting performance (4-8 from deep). The 6-5 wing added 5 rebounds to his effort. Sanders wound up just shy of another double-double, scoring 10 points and adding 7 rebounds, while Freshman Matt King also scored in double figures with 12 points, plus he contributed 7 rebounds and 4 steals defensively.
Marian Ancilla (13-6 overall, 2-2 in MCCAA play) continues a tough stretch this week, as they will play three more games, making it four total games over an 8-day span. Monday, the Chargers play host to Grand Rapids (16-3, 3-1) with an approximate tip of 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, they again host, this time it will be the Red Hawks of Lake Michigan (6-8, 0-4) coming to the LifePlex. Then Saturday, the team will travel to Kellogg (11-5, 2-3) for an afternoon matchup with the Bruins. Please come out and support the Chargers, if you are able!!
