No. 12 Mott knocks off Mid Michigan, 76-56

FLINT, Michigan — The Mott Community College Bears were a man down on Saturday afternoon in Flint. Sophomore forward Robert McCalley sat out the game with an ankle injury he suffered last week.

Even so, the Lakers of Mid Michigan College (7-2) were no match for the no. 12-ranked Bears. Mott led by 14 at the half, and by as many as 22 in the second half, en route to a 76-56 victory. The Bears improved to 10-2 on the season.

Mott head coach Steve Schmidt said before the game that his team was prepared for a fight against MMCC. Schmidt has a lot of respect for MMCC head coach Caleb House and his staff, and knew the Lakers could fill it up from outside. His words proved true, as every time the Bears appeared poised to blow the game wide open, the Lakers shot their way back.

The Bears held the Lakers to only two points in the first five minutes due, in large part, to the pressure Mott was able to put on MMCC’s ball handlers. Pressuring the ball was a consistent theme in the game for Mott, and has been during the Bears’ six-game winning streak. During that stretch, the Bears are surrendering  only 61 points per game.

That 60-point threshold is an important one for Mott, as Schmidt’s championship teams of the past made a habit of holding teams under that mark.

Windy City freshman Marcus Cole scored 20 points with six rebounds. Freshman guard Austin Walker scored 15 points including a dunk in transition. The streaky shooter from South Carolina is really starting to show a nice all-around offensive game.

Diandre Wilson and Sidney Mason added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

The Bears will be off for Christmas break and will return to action on December 30 against Lake Michigan College. Listen live all season at MRSN.us.

No. 12-ranked Mott blows out Kalamazoo Valley to improve to 9-2

Mott Community College, on the strength of a 29-10 run in the second half, blew out Kalamazoo Valley on Wednesday night in Flint, 91-58. 

Both teams started off rusty after a delayed start to the game. After the sluggish start, the Bears simply overpowered KVCC. Mott (9-2) led by 30 midway through the second half paced by the play of sophomore guard Diandre Wilson. 

“It was a pretty good second half but we just didn’t have it at first,” said Mott Head Coach Steve Schmidt to MRSN. “It was a good win. We just need one more and then we can enjoy Christmas.”

The contest was the first of five consecutive home games for Mott in the next three weeks. The Bears must remain focused in preparation for the  January 4 clash against unbeaten Oakland CC. The Raiders are the only team in Michigan the Bears are looking up at in the NJCAA national poll. 

Wilson led all scorers with 22. Marcus Cole added 16 and Shawn Pardee 11. 

The Bears will take on Mid Michigan CC at 3 pm Saturday at Ballenger Fieldhouse. Listen live on the Michigan Regional Sports Network.  

Mott knocks off Muskegon, 69-52, to extend winning streak to four

The Mott Community College Bears won their fourth game in a row on Saturday afternoon, blowing out Muskegon 69-52 on the road. The matchup was the team’s last road contest for more than a month.

The Bears won their earlier meeting with Muskegon, 92-64.

Marcus Cole, one of the Bears’ top freshmen, was tasked with stopping Daryl Kirkland, a D-1 transfer from Eastern Michigan and one of the top players in the MCCAA. Cole held Kirkland to nine points on 4-for-17 from the field. It was a backbreaker for Muskegon, now 5-3 on the season.

The Bears (8-2), led by sophomore guard Deandre Wilson, led by 11 at the half. After Muskegon cut the Bears’ lead to six, Mott sprinted out on a 10-0 run to put the game out of  reach.

Wilson led all scorers with 20 points. Freshman Austin Walker scored 16 points on seven shots. Freshman Sidney Mason added six points, eight rebounds and five blocks. In addition to his stellar defense on Muskegon’s top player, Cole scored 10 points with six rebounds and three steals.

The Bears next five games will be played in the friendly confines of Ballenger Fieldhouse. They will be favored in four of five (Oakland the possible exception).Expect the Bears to continue creeping up the NJCAA national poll. They are currently no. 18 but that will certainly improve after Wednesday’s win over Lansing.

Mott will take on Kalamazoo Valley at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night at home. Listen lives on the Michigan Regional Sports Network at MRSN.us.

 

Mott blows out no. 8-ranked Lansing, 79-61

FLINT, Michigan — The Mott Community College Bears didn’t have to stew for long over their loss on the road against rival Lansing last week. The Bears bounced back in a big way Wednesday night, blowing out the no. 8-ranked Stars, 79-61.

Mott (7-2) held the Stars to a paltry 30 percent shooting from the field in the first half to lead by seven at the break. Their performance was a far cry from the first meeting between the two teams, in which the Stars couldn’t miss from the perimeter.

Wednesday night, it was the Bears who had the hot hands. Led by their South Carolina sharpshooter, freshman Austin Walker, the Bears led by as many as 23 points in the second half.

Walker scored eight of his 18 points in a three-minute span early in the second half, hitting five of his nine attempts from 3-point range. Walker, Marcus Cole (shown in video above) and Diandre Wilson all scored 18 points on the night. Robert McCalley added 13 points and eight rebounds.

Isaiah Green, a high-flying sophomore forward from Southfield, led the Stars with 15 points.

The Bears started off slow, but it became clear that they were going to outwork the Stars on the defensive end. Lansing simply could not match their effort on either end of the floor.

The Bears shot 60 percent from the field in the second half and nearly 40 percent from long range.

This win, and especially the manner in which the game was won, will do a lot to raise the profile of the program moving forward. Lansing will, more than likely, be the team to beat in the Western Conference this season. For most of tonight’s game, Mott made them look very average.

Lansing (6-2) has impressive size on their frontline and some considerable athleticism, but they simply could not finish in the low post and consistently failed to close out on shooters.

A major bright spot thus far for the Bears has been the play of sophomore forward Sean Corcoran. The Flint Powers product scored eight points on seven shots and added eight rebounds. He’s filling the role played last season by Matt Place. He’s tough on defense and finishing around the basket. He has been a plus player all season.

Another Bear who is really starting to show out is freshman guard Dedrick Shannon. The Windy City product had four points, three rebounds and 10 assists in 24 minutes.

The Bears return to action on Saturday on the road against Muskegon. After Saturday, Mott will return home for five consecutive games before their battle against Schoolcraft on the road on January 14.

Listen to the Bears all season long on the Michigan Regional Sports Network at MRSN.us. 

Mott blows out Columbus State, 94-69, to improve to 6-2

FLINT, Michigan – Mott Community College improved to 6-2 on the season with a decisive 94-69 victory over visiting Columbus State on Saturday in Flint.

The Bears returned to the friendly confines of Ballenger Fieldhouse after a rough stretch of three road games including Monday’s loss to no. 9-ranked Lansing. Mott finished 2-1 on the trip, with hard-fought wins over Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo Valley.

The overmatched Cougars looked like they might stick around in the first half after Mott’s leading scorer, sophomore Diandre Wilson, was whistled for his third foul with nine minutes left before halftime. The Bears responded, led by forwards Marcus Cole and Robert McCalley, and took a 16-point lead into the break.

Wilson (featured in the video above), who scored 61 combined points in the Bears’ last two games, returned in the second half with the game well in hand.

McCalley led all scorers with 21 points and nine rebounds. Freshman sharpshooter Shawn Pardee added 20. Deon Palmer, an impressive frontline prospect from Fort Wayne, pulled down 11 rebounds.

Mott led by as many as 30 in the second half and had plenty of playing time to dish out to reserve players. You can see the depth of Mott’s roster this season, and it appears to be coming together well, especially on the offensive end. The Bears can score from all over the court, are athletic from top to bottom and have two guards who can fill it up from range.

The Cougars continue their skid, falling to 1-6 on the season.

The Bears will have an opportunity to avenge the Lansing loss on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Ballenger Fieldhouse. The Stars are 6-1 on the season with their lone loss coming against Owens (Ohio), coached by former Mott assistant Dave Clarke.

The game will be broadcast live at MRSN.us or on the TuneInRadio app.