By Justin Stulpe
The Grand Rapids Community College men’s basketball team clashed with Marian University-Ancilla on Feb.15 with hopes to pick up a huge victory and regain a winning record in conference play. Coming into the contest at 5-5 against conference foes, the Raiders were looking to cool down the red hot Ancilla Chargers who had won their previous five out of six. Despite a monstrous showing from GRCC’s freshman guards Marshaun Flakes and Tyran Thomas, GRCC came up short in the final two minutes of the game, losing 92-84.
The first half was defined by scoring runs that would result in each team holding substantial leads, yet neither team could shake each other and pull away from one another. Flakes and Thomas were the dynamic duo that kept the Raiders afloat for most of the contest, as Flakes was knocking down shots from everywhere on the court and Thomas hauled in five offensive rebounds in the first 20 minutes of game action.
One such run that kept the Raiders on the tail of the Chargers was a 7-0 run that happened in a flash in the waning seconds before halftime, as buckets from each Flakes and Thomas cut the lead from eight to four. To cap off the rapid onslaught of scoring, two Ancilla turnovers allowed freshman wing Gaden Muxlow to bury a corner 3-pointer to draw GRCC within a single point to only be down 47-46 heading into halftime.
To open up the second half, the scoring slowed down for a bit, along with the teams remaining neck-and-neck for the first nine minutes of the half to the tune of neither team holding more than a six-point lead. Then, another Ancilla run put them up by as many as 11 with just under 10 minutes left in the game, a lead that they would never let go of. Flakes and Thomas continued to spearhead the Raiders to bring them back within two points with 1:38 left in the contest. But the mad dash comeback attempt fell just short, as Ancilla knocked down clutch free-throws to put the game out of reach in the final seconds.
Head coach Joe Fox detailed how he felt his team played hard through the last whistle but was dissatisfied with the final score as a result of failing to execute enough to come away with a win in a gettable game against Ancilla.
“Disappointing result. I thought we did enough to be in the game but not enough to put us over the edge,” Fox said.
Fox also noted the disciplined team that Ancilla is and how there is no room for error when it comes to attempting to take them down, something that he feels that the Raiders weren’t quite there for when he says “Ancilla is very talented and have been playing well. You have to play at your top level to be able to win, and we weren’t there Saturday.”
Despite the loss, Flakes and Thomas both chipped in valiant efforts to try and get a gritty win against the Chargers. Flakes ended the game with 34 points, his second most in his collegiate career, to go along with 11 rebounds, five assists and a game-high three steals. Thomas played exceptionally alongside Flakes, with Thomas scoring his season-high 25 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. Outside of the two double-doubles from the freshman guards, freshman forward Ethan Bennett tallied six points and an imposing four blocks, along with the Raiders getting high-energy minutes from Muxlow and sophomore forward Javon Golson.
Three Charger players scored 20 or more points in the win, demonstrating impressive scoring balance among their roster. Freshman forward Davoine Doty led Ancilla with 26 points and grabbed 11 boards for an impactful double-double, while freshman guard Jordan Woods was next in line for scoring, adding 22 points, six rebounds and eight dimes to lead either team. Coming off of the bench for Ancilla, sophomore guard Kenneth Grant tallied 21 points, while sophomore forward Dante Porch noticed a 10-point, 14-rebound double-double to make it four separate players with such feats in this contest for either team.
The Raiders have missed the efforts of sophomore guard Bashir Neely the past few games due to an injury, and Fox notes how a goal for the rest of the season for the team is to get healthy when every person on the team is needed for the postseason.
“We’re continuing to work our way toward being full strength, and I think that will be the biggest thing for us these last few weeks, just getting back healthy,” Fox said.
GRCC is now 2-6 in their last eight games, a skid that is surprising given their early season dominance, at one point being 16-2 and regularly blowing teams out. Despite the struggles in recent games against admittedly tough opponents putting their current record at 18-8, the Raiders will now have a chance to get back to their winning ways against Glen Oaks Community College. GRCC will square off with the Vikings on Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Ford Fieldhouse and attempt to split their matchups with Glen Oaks this season in conference play.
The Vikings handed the Raiders a 25-point loss in their first meeting, but the Raiders have had the Vikings number in recent years, being 6-2 in their last eight meetings against Glen Oaks including the loss earlier this year. A stat that inspires confidence for the Raiders chances to avenge their previous loss against Glen Oaks is the fact that GRCC is 4-1 in their last five games at home against the Vikings and the Raiders will need to continue this trend of home supremacy in order to build some momentum heading into the final two games of the season and the playoffs.
Fox says that there is a drastic change in the works for Glen Oaks despite the recent losses and they are focusing on just getting back to accomplishing their schemes.
“No major formula change, just have to lock in and execute our game plan,” Fox said.
