MBB PREVIEW: MCCAA State Tournament

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – A historic season for the No. 10 Mid Michigan College men's basketball team (24-4, 13-1 MCCAA North) will continue this weekend at the MCCAA State Tournament. The Northern Conference champion Lakers will take on Eastern Conference champion Macomb at 7 p.m. on Friday (Feb. 28). The winner of Friday's game will play Western Conference Champion Kalamazoo Valley at 3 p.m. on Saturday (March 1). 

All games will be played at Kalamazoo Valley, as the Western Conference Champion was the designated host school per the rotation schedule. KVCC also earned the bye into the MCCAA State Championship game.

SCOUTING MACOMB: The Lakers and Monarchs are familiar foes, as the teams have met twice this season. Macomb won the first meeting, 106-98, on Nov. 16 at Morey Courts, before the Lakers earned their revenge on Dec. 6 with an 88-80 overtime victory at Macomb. Josh Hines leads the Monarchs offensively with 21.8 points per game, while DeMaryon Fishburn averages 13.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Jalen Jenkins is another player to watch as he has 104 total assists this season along with 41 steals. The No. 8 Monarchs finished the regular season with a 24-4 overall record and 11-3 mark in MCCAA Eastern Conference play. 

SCOUTING KVCC: No. 7 Kalamazoo Valley enters the weekend 26-1 overall and 13-0 in MCCAA Western Conference action. The Cougars' lone loss came on Jan. 4, when they lost, 75-71, against Macomb. Joe Liedel averages a team best 25.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. John Sweeney averages a double-double with 11 points and 11.1 rebounds per contest. MaKyle Doss dishes out a team high 4.3 assists per game. Another offensive weapon to watch is Ramere Draper with 20 points per game. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: For the Lakers, James Wright leads the way with 21.7 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. The sophomore recently surpassed 1000 career points in Mid's 125-80 win over Alpena on Feb. 21. De'Antre Griffin has posted 17.2 points per game, while Amonti Greene averages 15.2 points and a team high 3.8 assists per game. Joe Iung averages 9.7 points per contest, while Vynce Overshown has 9.3 points per game. The Lakers won their first conference championship in school history with the victory over Alpena. 

UP NEXT: Mid has earned the No. 1 seed and a first round bye in the Great Lakes District C Tournament. The Lakers will take on the winner of the Glen Oaks-Lansing quarterfinal at 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 6 at Ballenger Field House on the campus of Mott Community College.