Two Tough Home Losses for ACC

The North Central Michigan Timberwolves completed a sweep of the Alpena Community College Lumberjacks' basketball teams on Tuesday night at Park Arena, with the women winning 73-60 and the men claiming a 75-70 victory in front of an energetic home crowd.

Throughout both contests, the Jack Pack student section provided vocal support for the home teams, creating an electric atmosphere at Park Arena. The spirited crowd kept both Lumberjacks squads energized despite the challenging outcomes.

The men's game nightcap was especially exciting, featuring a back-and-forth battle, with NCMC (3-15, 2-4) holding off several Lumberjack rallies to secure the five-point victory.

ACC jumped out to a 6-0 lead holding NCMC scoreless for the first six and a half minutes of the game.

The Timberwolves rallied, however, and led by as many as eight, eventually leading at halftime by seven, 39-32.

The Lumberjacks opened the second half on a 17-6 run, as a Gary Reed jumper tied the game and two free throws each by Derian Williams and Kavon Patterson gave ACC a 49-45 lead with 12:50 to play.

Again, NCMC would not be deterred and scored the Jacks 16-6 over the next six minutes to lead 61-55 with 6:30 on the clock.

But the Lumberjacks rallied, tying the game with 4:47 to go on another score by Reed. On ACC's next trip, a critical no-call occurred as Patterson missed a three-pointer in the corner and appeared to be knocked down by the NCMC defender.

Rather than ACC taking a three-point lead with under four minutes to go, the Timberwolves rattled off eight straight points, capped by a three-point play with 1:40 to go giving them a 71-63 lead, matching their largest lead of the night.

The final minutes saw the Lumberjacks fighting desperately to close the gap, with Patterson having two steals in the last minute of the game and scoring four of his team's final five points. However, clutch free-throw shooting from the visitors in the closing seconds sealed the win for NCMC as they were 13 of 14 from the charity stripe on the night.

The Timberwolves' Jordan Guenette led all scorers with 23 points, including four three-pointers and perfect 7-for-7 shooting from the free-throw line.

Patterson led the Lumberjacks with 16 points, while Williams added 15 points and five assists. Kobe Johnson contributed eight points (including a thunderous alley-oop dunk in the first half), six rebounds, and four steals.

The Lumberjacks' defense created havoc with 17 steals, but 27.3 percent shooting from the field proved too much to overcome.

In the women's contest, NCMC (3-15, 1-5) the game was much closer than the final score indicated.

ACC jumped out to a 3-0 lead early which would be their only lead of the night as NCMC led by as many as 11 in the first period and led 21-12 at the end of the stanza.

In the second, the Jacks were no closer than five, but the Timberwolves scored the last four points of the half for a 40-26 halftime advantage.

The Lumberjacks dominated the third quarter as the Jack Pack came to life, getting to within two at 47-45 and 49-47 before NCMC again closed out a quarter strong, scoring three points in the final 36 seconds of the period for a 52-47 lead.

But in the final quarter, the short-handed Jacks could get no closer than five points, trailing 56-51 with 7:30 to go. The Wolves then went on an 8-0 run over the next three and a half minutes to put the game away.

Saige Flaugher led Alpena (4-12, 0-6) with 21 points, while Lillie Maser added 16 points and a team-high 14 rebounds. Brooke Portice contributed 13 points and 17 rebounds.

NCMC's Ceara LeBlanc put on a dominant performance, leading all scorers with 27 points on 9-for-16 shooting and hitting six three-pointers to lead the Timberwolves to victory. She also contributed seven steals and three assists in the complete showing.

ACC converted 17 of 25 free throw attempts but were hampered by 24 turnovers.

Both Alpena Community College teams will look to bounce back when they host Delta College on Saturday, January 31. The women's game tips off at 1:00 p.m., followed by the men at 3:00 p.m. at Park Arena.