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BENTON HARBOR — With four of its five starters finishing with double figures, visiting Southwestern Michigan College remained a game out of second place in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association Western Conference, as it defeated Lake Michigan College 83-61 Saturday.

Led by Cameron Thomas’ game-high 22 points, the Roadrunners improved to 18-3 overall and 4-2 in the Western Conference. Kellogg Community College leads the league at 5-0, while Lansing Community College is second at 5-1.

Southwestern Michigan grabbed the early 24-14 lead after the opening quarter and extended its advantage to 47-31 by the intermission.

The Roadrunners outscored the Red Hawks 27-9 in the third quarter to turn the game into a rout. Lake Michigan turned the tables on SMC in the final 10 minutes, outscoring it 21-9 to make the final score look a bit more respectable.

Thomas (Hazel Crest, Illinois) not only led the team in scoring, but she also grabbed 10 rebounds. The Roadrunners also got 17 points from Macey Laubach (Edwardsburg), who also grabbed five rebounds, had five steals and five assists.

Amara Palmer (Niles) finished with 13 points, nine assists, six rebounds and eight steals, while Junahya Johnson (Detroit) contributed 10 points, six rebounds and a pair of assists. SMC’s fifth starter, Alanah Smith (Dowagiac) grabbed seven rebounds. Nalani Williams (St. Louis, Missouri) had a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with eight points.

Arial Ford had 21 points and 21 rebounds to lead the Red Hawks. Eleah Hedstrom added 18 points and Madison Flowers 17 points.

The Roadrunners are on the road Wednesday for a Western Conference contest against Ancilla College. Southwestern Michigan will play two more road games — at Kellogg and at Kalamazoo Valley — before returning to the 1st Source Bank Fieldhouse to face Lansing Feb. 21.

 

Men’s Basketball

The Roadrunners fell behind early, but were able to catch the Red Hawks just before halftime to take a 34-32 lead into intermission.

Southwestern Michigan was unable to maintain that lead during the final 20 minutes as both teams struggled offensively, but Lake Michigan scored six more points in the half to pull out the win.

The loss dropped the Roadrunners to 12-9 overall and 3-3 in Western Conference play. Lake Michigan improves to 7-11 and 2-4 in the Western Conference.

Aries Hull (Chicago) led SMC with 12 points and six rebounds, while Mikel Forrest (Niles) had 11 points and Rashawn Bost (Evanston, Illinois) 10 points. Prince Adams (Evanston, Illinois) had a game-high 17 rebounds to go with six steals and four blocks.

Kanden Davis led the Red Hawks with 12 points off the bench. Skylar Samuel finished with 11 points. Dowagiac’s Henry Weller had three points.