Wednesday night, the Marian University Ancilla Men's Basketball team hosted the NJCAA Division II #7 Kalamazoo Valley Cougars. The Cougars came in 24-1 and 11-0 in the MCCAA Western Division, but the last time the two teams played on January 25th, the Chargers battled throughout, only to fall 84-72. That provided a confidence, and this time the Chargers led for much of the game, losing on a free throw after time had expired, 80-79.
The Chargers jumped out to an early led, but Kalamazoo Valley answered back and took a 35-32 lead late in the first half. With 3:14 remaining in the half, Freshman Matt King nailed a big 3-pointer from the right wing, as Sophomore Jayden Sanders was held during the shot, and the Chargers earned the 3 points plus the ball out of bounds following the foul call. Including King's 3-pointer, MUAC outscored KVCC 13-3 to end the half and entered the locker room with a 45-38 lead.
In the second half, the Chargers again fought through Cougar runs, they gave up the lead briefly a couple of times, but overall they were able to withstand a big surge. With MUAC trailing 60-58 at the 9:39 mark, Sophomore Tyshaun Grundy attacked the basket and found Sophomore Ashton Oviedo in the left corner for a 3-pointer. That spurred a 15-3 run for the Chargers that put them in front 73-63, as Freshman Jordan Woods capped off the run with a rebound basket with just 4:35 remaining in the contest.
Unfortunately, missed free throws...the Chargers were just 9-20 on the evening...and a couple of key turnovers allowed the Cougars back into the game. The Cougars made a layup with 43 seconds left, trimmed the lead to 79-77, and called timeout. Following that break in the action, the Chargers missed a tough, contested shot at the rim with 36 seconds left, and the Cougars pushed back immediately to score another layup and tie the game at 79-79 with 26.2 seconds remaining.
Following a final Kalamazoo Valley timeout, then a Marian Ancilla timeout in their own frontcourt with 13.2 seconds left, it would all be decided. After a couple of quick exchanges, the Chargers again attacked the basket, but on the kick out to a shooter in the right corner, the ball went out of bounds. That left Kalamazoo Valley with 4.8 seconds and the length of the floor to go. With the ball in Cougar Josh Wilson's hands, he attacked the basket aggressively, drew contact and a Charger foul as time expired. The following free throw then sealed the 80-79 win for Kalamazoo Valley.
King (3 rebounds, 3 assists) led all Charger scorers with 18 points. Woods again played a complete game, scoring 17 points, handing out 9 assists, collecting 7 steals, and pulling down 6 rebounds. Sanders (17 points, 7 rebounds) and Sophomore Kenneth Grant (10 points, 4 rebounds) also scored in double figures for Marian Ancilla.
The Men's Basketball team has already clinched a postseason bid, but they are battling for the second seed in the Western Division with two games to go. Currently, the Chargers are 8-4 in the division, Glen Oaks is 7-4 with three games left, and Grand Rapids is 7-5 with two games left. The Chargers travel to Lake Michigan tomorrow, Saturday, to take on the Red Hawks in an important matchup. Then, they return home to the LifePlex next Tuesday to take on Kellogg Community College. Tomorrow's game is set for 3:00 p.m., while Tuesday's game should start at approximately 7:30 p.m. Please come out and support the Chargers, if you are able!!
