The Grand Rapids Community College Men’s Basketball team kicked off their 2024-25 campaign in Illinois last week where they took on College of Lake County in a game that crowned the Raiders victorious, winning 84-67.
The Raiders lost their next game against College of DuPage, 86-83, before securing another victory against Montcalm Community College, 86-77. Through three games GRCC is averaging 84.3 points per game, up from 83.2 last season. Defensively, the Raiders allowed 84.6 points per game last season, but that number is down to 76.7 through the first three matches.
GRCC vs. College of Lake County
In the season-opener against Lake County, GRCC controlled the game the whole time, outscoring the Lancers 46-26 in the first half. Lake County was able to score 41 points in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit the Raiders had created, as the Raiders went onto victory, 84-67.
A big part of the win for the Raiders was their ability to take care of the ball, turning it over just nine times, in which Lake County only scored eight points off of, while putting up 24 assists. On the defensive side of the ball, GRCC forced 18 Lake County turnovers, scoring 30 points off of those turnovers. Outscoring the opponent by 22 points off of turnovers in a 17-point win played a key factor for the Raiders.
Sophomore guard Bashir Neely scored a team-high 20 points in 22 minutes for the Raiders, while his backcourt partner and Freshman guard Marshaun Flakes scored 18 points in 17 minutes on an efficient 7-12 from the field, including 3-7 from three-point range. Sophomore guard Jack Agema had a nice night orchestrating the offense, putting up seven assists to zero turnovers in 16 minutes of action.
GRCC vs. College of DuPage
The Raiders had a quick turnaround to their second game of the season against DuPage. The game remained close all the way through, with the largest lead of the afternoon for either team being 10 points, which DuPage achieved late in the second half. The Raiders themselves had a seven point lead built up in the first half, but it wasn’t enough to sustain.
The key difference on the day in this game came down to the free throw line, an area where the Raiders struggled last year, hitting about 63% of their free throws compared to their opponents 67% clip. In this particular game against DuPage, GRCC made it to the free throw line 15 times, and made eight, settling in at 53.3%, while DuPage made it to the free throw line 28 times, and made 23 of their attempts, at 82.1%, which is higher than the Division-I and NBA average free throw rate.
Flakes and Neely led the Raiders in scoring again in this match, with Flakes scoring 24 points on 11-21 shooting, and Neely scoring 19 points on 12-17 shooting.
GRCC vs Montcalm Community College
The Raiders carried their road trip to Sidney, Michigan to take on Montcalm Community College. Looking to rebound after a close loss, the Raiders put together a valiant team effort with four different players scoring at least 15 points. GRCC led by just two points at halftime, but started to see their lead grow by as much as 10 with 11 minutes left to play in the second half. Despite a comeback effort by Montcalm, who cut the lead to two points with six minutes left, GRCC was able to hold on to pick up their second win of the young season. It was a turnover-fest for both teams in this game, with GRCC committing 20 of them and Montcalm committing 19.
Neely led the team in scoring with 17 points on a very efficient 6-7 from the field, Agema tagged along 16 points, and Flakes also scored 15. Freshman guard Tyran Thomas also had a big game, scoring 15 and grabbing nine rebounds. All four players scored at least 15 points and recorded at least two steals and four rebounds.
GRCC will open at home against Jackson College on Nov. 13, which will be the first of three games on this homestand, with the other two being against Oakland Community College and Muskegon Community College. The home opener against Jackson will be played at the Ford Fieldhouse on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Raiders will look to improve off of their 14-15 record from last season, and have a good chance to do so with a successful home trip.
Head coach Joe Fox could not be reached for comment.
