MUSKEGON, MI – Ancilla lost a tough fought game against the Jayhawks of Muskegon Community College Tuesdayin the first round of the National Junior College Athletic Association District 9 Tournament, 82-67.
Spectators witnessed an intense game from the Chargers (17-13, 8-8 Michigan Community College Athletic Association) as the game against the Jayhawks (21-8, 10-6 MCCAA) kicked off in back and forth style. Muskegon was able to take a four point lead over Ancilla with eleven minutes to play in the first half. The Charger’s Eric Waddell gave Ancilla its first lead with an end to end drive pulling them ahead by two. Juwan Johnson shot for three bringing the score 22-18. Josh Santos’s turn around put the Chargers up 30-25 with less than three minutes left to play and the first half ended in a tie game, 30-30.
In the second half, the Jayhawks came back strong and made a run to gain a seven point lead with just over fourteen minutes on the clock. Tque Smith made a driving basket and then a steal and jump shot to tie the game 46-46 with thirteen minutes to play and Ancilla was able to pull ahead by five. With less than six minutes left, Muskegon once again made a run to take the lead, but the Chargers brought the game to a tie, 63-63. With less than three minutes to go, Muskegon was able to bypass Ancilla, growing their lead and capturing the win.
Ancilla sophomore Mike Wickliff led the Charger’s scoring with fifteen points and pulled down six rebounds. Tque Smith added 14 points for the Chargers and Juwan Johnson (13) and Eric Waddell contributed a combined 25 points. Johnson also pulled down 10 rebounds and Josh Santos had six rebounds for the game.
“I am very proud of this team,” said Ancilla College head coach Aaron Butcher. “We didn’t have a great night offensively but continued to fight and had ourselves in position to win inside of five minutes. This year’s team faced a lot of adversity, and they faced it head on every time. While we didn’t achieve the goals we had set at the beginning of the year, to handle all the adversity we had and finish with the second most wins in a season in program history speak volumes about the character of our guys. The program continues to make great strides and we are excited for what the future of Charger basketball holds.”
The Ancilla men’s basketball team ended their winning season 17-13.
