Mount Pleasant, MI – Rico Swanson, Jr. hit the go ahead basket with 19 seconds left and then the game winner with three seconds remaining, as #18 Ancilla College escaped northern Michigan with a 74-73 win over Mid Michigan College Monday night.
The Chargers (12-3, 6-1) trailed by seven points with 1:05 minutes to go before Swanson put the game away with a layup off an Isiah James steal to give the Chargers a brief lead and then again on a full court drive for a twisting layup off a missed Pelican free throw with three seconds left. Fouled on the play, Swanson battled for the rebound on his missed charity toss to melt an additional two seconds off the clock.
Defense got the win for the Chargers on a night when they had trouble scoring consistently. James hit a pair of free throws with 1:05 left to get Ancilla within five points at 65-70. Cortney Shorter added a basketball and free throw with 42 seconds remaining and Mike Hemingway got the Chargers to with one at 70-71 off a Swanson steal under the basket.
Josh Alcindor led Ancilla with 12 points, with Hemingway, James and Weston Sage all scoring 11 points, respectively. Swanson's two baskets in the final minute where only his second and third of the game.
Ancilla hosts Kellogg Community College on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. at the LifePlex in Plymouth.
#18 Ancilla 74, Mid Michigan College 73
At Mount Pleasant, MI
ANCILLA (74): Clark Wells 0-0 0-0 0, Austin Pearison 0-2 0-0 0, Mike Hemingway 4-11 3-4 8, Josh Alcindor 3-6 5-8 11, Rico Swanson, Jr. 3-5 2-5 8, Isiah James 3-6 5-8 11, Cortney Shorter 4-13 1-1, Weston Sage 5-9 0-1 11, Shak Johnson 2-6 4-6 8, Jalen Fountain 2-4 0-0 4. TOTALS: 28-72 15-25 74.
Mid Michigan (73) Keegan Brooks 1-1 1-2 3, Jaylen Rutherford 6-13 4-7 17, Areon Evans 5-12 3-4 15, Dre Tuominem 8-14 2-4 21. Javel Lewis 2-8 4-4 8, Henrique Andrade 0-0 0-0 0, Tim Seward 1-1 0-0 2, Darrion Tandy 1-4 0-0 2, Kevin Newell 1-2 0-0 2, Isaac Hungerford 1-2 0-0 3. TOTALS: 26-57 14-21 73.
Halftime: Mid Michigan 35, Ancilla 31. Three-point baskets: AC 3-22 (Hemingway 0-2, Alcindor 2-7, James 0-1, Shorter 0-5, Pearison 0-2, Sage 1-3, Fountain 0-2), MM 7-23 (Rutherford 1-6, Evans 2-7, Tuominen 3-4, Lewis 0-1, Tandy 0-3, Hungerford 1-2). Rebounds: AC 35 (Sage 7), MM 34 (Evans 8). Assists: AC 9 (Hemingway 4), MM 12 (Brooks 4, Tuominen 4). Turnovers: AC 12, MM 23. Fouls (Fouled out): AC 18 (none), LCC 23 (none). Records: Ancilla 12-3, 6-1 MCCAA; Mid Michigan College 12-6, 5-3 MCCAA.