Box Score Grand Rapids, MI. – During the regular season the Grand Rapids Community College Men's Basketball team fell twice to Mid-Michigan Community College. The Raiders didn't match up well against the Lakers length and athleticism, and didn't defend well during the previous two meetings. Despite their difficulties against MMCC, GRCC entered Tuesday (3/7) nights postseason matchup versus the 5
th seeded Lakers, as the higher seed (4).
In front of a large, boisterous home crowd, the Raiders overcame their previous struggles with MMCC to hang on for the 81-76 win. The game began much like the past two did, the Raiders trailed by as many as 14 during the first half, but used a 6-0 run at the end of the half to close the gap, trailing by 5, 42-37.
In the second half, GRCC battled to take their first lead with 6:40 left to go in the game, 67-65. The Lakers would go on a 6-2 run to pull ahead 71-67, however, the Raiders would regain the lead at 73-71 with 3:42 left. Up 79-76, the Lakers stepped out of bounds, turning the ball over to the Raiders. On the ensuing inbounds,
Bryce Elliot was fouled and iced the game by hitting two free throws with 1 second left to seal the win.
The Raiders were led by Sophomore guards,
Arthur Pearson and
Jeffrey Drake-Todd. Person led all scorers with 26 points and earned a double-double by grabbing 10 rebounds. Drake-Todd poured in 20 points and 3 critical steals. Center,
Maxwell Prendergast, had a monster game, scoring 11 points and pulling down 15 boards (8 offensive).
Zachary Pangborn was given the task of defending the Lakers leading scorer, Mikhail Myles, and did a tremendous job, holding Myles to 4 points on the night.
The Raiders will play #1 seed Muskegon Community College in the NJCAA District 9 Semifinals on Thursday (3/9) at 7:30pm in Port Huron. The Raiders split their two regular season games against the Jayhawks, losing 89-80 at Muskegon, and winning 85-69 at home. The game can be streamed live by clicking here www.sc4athletics.com or here www.thumbtailgater.com (Channel 1).
The winner of the Semifinal game will play on Saturday (3/11) at 3PM against the winner of the Lansing vs. Ancilla Semifinal game.
