No. 14 Mott knocks off Kalamazoo Valley to win 8th straight, 76-60

FLINT, Michigan — No. 14-ranked Mott Community College continued its dominance of the non-conference schedule, easily dispatching Kalamazoo Valley on Saturday afternoon in Flint, 76-60.

Mott led by 17 at the half and never allowed KVCC within shouting distance in the second half. The win marks the Bears’ eighth in a row, after inexplicably losing their first two games of the season. If the last two games are any indication, it appears the shock of the slow start has faded into the ether.

Mott’s top scorer for the second consecutive game was sophomore sharpshooter Shawn Pardee. The Millington (MI) product scored 23 points on a ridiculous 6-for-7 shooting day from 3-point range.

Pardee is the best outside shooter I’ve seen in a Mott uniform. After a slow start to the season from deep, he has a dozen triples in his last two games. He is shooting 42 percent from 3-point range this season. Pardee almost single-handedly led Mott to an overtime victory against Grand Rapids on Wednesday night, scoring 16 points in the overtime period alone.

Mott (8-2) heads into its road contest against Lansing Wednesday night brimming with confidence, as the team full of newcomers appears to have found its identity. This a team you cannot rest against; this is a team you cannot press; the players come at you in waves.

Lansing is in a bit of a funk, with losses in six of the first eight games this season. That said, the Stars always bring their best against Mott. One of the Stars’ two wins came against Oakland, a perennial contender for the Eastern Conference title.

Back to the Bears: There are no scrubs on this roster; no practice players. Everyone on this team plays.

Setting aside the first five minutes of Saturday’s game, Mott’s depth was on full display. Steve Schmidt’s team lacks a pure center (not unusual in his system), but what the Bears lack in frontline beef they more than make up for in guards and small forwards.

Schmidt has a murderer’s row scorers led by freshman Henry Speight and sophomores Marcus Cole and Terrence Sewell. The latter is a pretty decent facsimile of former Bear Ralph Eason, who helped lead Mott to its most recent national championship in 2013. He can do a bit of everything and, like Eason, probably isn’t scratching the surface of his ability quite yet.

Sewell, who transferred from Ranger College (where he played for former Kentucky head coach Billy Gillespie), can impact the outcome of the game in so many ways. He can score, but he only attempted four shots on Saturday. He finished with eight points and 16 rebounds. He is currently third on the team in scoring (12.3) and is the team leader in rebounds (9.3).

Cole is Mott’s top returning player; he’s an athletic wing who can terrorize the rim. He had 10 points to go along with eight rebounds. Cole is still probably a consistent jumpshot away from a D-1 scholarship, but he has a ton of natural ability.

The X-Factor for this team is former Saginaw High Trojan Henry Speight. The freshman forward is built like former Bear Leviante Davis. He’s not as athletic as Davis, but he’s a better all-around player. Speight fits neatly into Mott’s long history of guys who don’t fit neatly into a position, but who can just flat-out play.

There are many other guys worth mentioning, but none more than sophomore point guard Darwin Weis. The team leader in assists and steals this season, Weis defends like his life depends on it. In truth, with so many high-quality guards on the roster, Weis is smart enough to know that his playing time at Mott is contingent on his effort on the defensive end. He has started eight out of 10 games for the Bears this season and is a total nightmare for opposing guards.

This is the deepest Mott team in many years. Hopefully they have what it takes to bring the buzz back to Ballenger.

Listen live to Mott basketball all season long at MRSN.online with the voice of the Bears Bill Schnorenberg. 

MCCAA Men’s Basketball Standings

Eastern Conference
	School	MCCAA		Overall		GB	Home	Away	Neutral	Streak
	Delta	0-0	.000	6-0	1.000	—	3-0	2-0	1-0	Won 6
	Macomb	0-0	.000	5-1	.833	—	3-0	2-0	0-1	Lost 1
	Mott	0-0	.000	8-2	.800	—	4-1	2-1	2-0	Won 8
	Henry Ford	0-0	.000	7-2	.778	—	2-0	4-2	1-0	Won 2
	St. Clair County	0-0	.000	7-2	.778	—	4-1	3-1	0-0	Lost 1
	Schoolcraft	0-0	.000	8-3	.727	—	4-1	3-1	1-1	Won 3
	Oakland	0-0	.000	6-4	.600	—	4-1	2-2	0-1	Won 1
	Wayne County	0-0	.000	2-2	.500	—	1-0	1-1	0-1	Won 2
	Alpena	0-0	.000	1-5	.167	—	0-2	1-3	0-0	Lost 2
Western Conference
	School	MCCAA		Overall		GB	Home	Away	Neutral	Streak
	Ancilla	0-0	.000	8-0	1.000	—	4-0	4-0	0-0	Won 8
	Grand Rapids	0-0	.000	6-2	.750	—	4-0	1-1	1-1	Lost 1
	Mid Michigan	0-0	.000	6-2	.750	—	2-1	4-1	0-0	Won 5
	Lake Michigan	0-0	.000	4-3	.571	—	2-2	2-1	0-0	Lost 1
	Jackson	0-0	.000	5-4	.556	—	2-1	2-3	1-0	Lost 2
	Muskegon	0-0	.000	3-5	.375	—	2-0	1-5	0-0	Won 1
	Glen Oaks	0-0	.000	3-6	.333	—	2-2	1-3	0-1	Lost 3
	Lansing	0-0	.000	2-6	.250	—	2-3	0-3	0-0	Lost 2
	Kalamazoo Valley	0-0	.000	2-7	.222	—	0-5	2-2	0-0	Lost 1
	Kellogg	0-0	.000	0-6	.000	—	0-2	0-4	0-0	Lost 6