GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN –The Ancilla Chargers Men’s basketball team put up a strong defensive effort last night in Grand Rapids against Muskegon Community College in Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA) Western Conference play. The Chargers were looking for a win in NJCAA District 8 quarter-final tournament play against the 3rd seeded Jayhakws, but came up short in the last minute, losing the game 76 to 70.
Ancilla was playing with a short bench with just six players logging minutes, but the Chargers came out strong and kept the game close. Neither team led by more than eight points the entire night. Two Muskegon three-point shots in the final three minutes turned out to be the difference. The Jayhawks pulled ahead with a 3-pointer after a time-out with just 1:20 left in the game. For the game, Ancilla held Muskegon to just 7 of 36 from the 3-point line.
Marc Constable had his first career triple-double for Ancilla notching 11 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists. Joby Renbarger added his fifth straight double-double with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Ancilla head coach Greg Neeley said “We gave ourselves a chance to win in the last couple minutes which is what we wanted. They just made a couple more plays at the end. I’m proud of the effort and how our guys were ready to play in a tournament game on the road.”
The loss to Muskegon has Ancilla finishing the season with 11 wins. That’s a 5 win improvement over last season.
Conference tournament play continues on Friday in Plymouth at the LifePlex. At 2:00 PM, number one seeded Lansing will take on Jackson Community College. At 4:00 PM, Muskegon will play against Grand Rapids. The winners of those two games will play on Saturday at 1:00 PM at the LifePlex for the championship.
