This past weekend, the Montgomery College basketball program dominated the MC Tip-Off event, in which both teams played — and won — their first two home games against Delaware Technical (Del Tech), Raritan Valley, and Paul D. Camp Community College.
Saturday, Nov 15.
Women’s Team: W, 84-49 vs Del Tech.
In both games, the Raptors jumped out to an early lead, winning the opening quarter 21-8 behind Tiana Carey’s seven points, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Carey continued stuffing the stat sheet, recording MC’s first documented quadruple-double in program history with an absurd 29 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, and 10 steals. She did so in an efficient 34 minutes in which she shot 50 percent from the field on nearly 60 percent true shooting (TS).
Imani Dennis, Sanai Massenburg, and Londyn Miller also scored ten or more points, with 13, 13, and 10, respectively. Miller had a double-double herself with a team-leading 14 rebounds.
On the topic of rebounding, MC has an incredible rebounding roster, as they recorded an astonishing 63 rebounds, with Carey, Miller, and freshman forward/center Caitlyn Howard all grabbing ten or more. Thirty-eight of those rebounds were offensive, compared to Del Tech’s 10. It seemed as though MC grabbed every shot they missed, and in the fourth quarter they almost did.
The Raptors were on fire in the closing quarter, only missing eight of their 22 shot attempts for an incomprehensible field goal percentage of 63.6. They scored 36 points in just 10 minutes, doubling what they scored in the third and tripling what they scored in the second. Carey scored 14 of those points on a near-perfect 6/7 shooting. Referring back to rebounding, MC rebounded 6 of those mere eight missed shots, relentlessly racking second-chance points to close the game.
Men’s Team: W, 90-76 vs Paul D. Camp.
Though considerably different, this year’s Raptor squad is remnant of last year’s in regard to its depth. Each player, one-through-sixteen is solid and fulfils their role to a tee. This game was no different, as four Raptors ended with 15 or more points, with ten all scoring at least once.
Aimane Elbouazzaoui, Christopher Levy, Ian Pascal, and Farah Abdalla combined for 63 points, recording 21, 18, 18, and 16, respectively. Elbouazzaoui and Abdalla had outstanding performances off the bench, as Elbouazzaoui in just 24 minutes had 21 points, four rebounds, and two steals in an incredibly efficient 76.3 TS percentage. Alongside scoring at all three levels, this year’s Raptor squad is elite on the other side of the ball, trapping ball handlers and swatting shots to record a ridiculous 21 steals and blocks (stocks) compared to Camp’s eight. Eight players recorded at least one steal, four players recorded at least one block, and two had at least one of each.
MC took a commanding 22-point lead come halftime due to an otherworldly outing at the three-point line, draining eight of their 12 attempts from beyond the arc. Their shooting percentage fell dramatically in the second, but the cushioning they provided themselves in the first allowed them to maintain a comfortable lead until the final buzzer.
Sunday, Nov 16.
Women’s team: W, 74-72 (OT) vs Raritan Valley.
This was an exhilarating affair that resulted in a chaotic overtime period. The Raptors came out of the locker room ready, as they opened the game with an 18-0 run that arguably won them the game moving forward. Eventual scoring leader for the game, Imani Dennis, hit her first three jumpers alongside Carey to combine for 18 points, allowing the Raptors to win the quarter 20-6.
Raritan Valley would proceed to win the second quarter 18-11, bringing the lead within single digits while MC shot 5/20 from the field and 0/2 from three.
The Raptors would regain some momentum following halftime, winning the third quarter 21-19 behind Miller’s six points, including a tough finish at the rim after an offensive rebound. Miller would go on to obtain her second double-double of the weekend, with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Raritan Valley dominated the fourth, winning the quarter 22-13 behind an impressive surge by Ona Riopedre. She repeatedly maneuvered her way to the basket, hitting both of her layups including an and-one later in the quarter. Her efforts rewarded her seven free throws, every single one of which she made. She even stepped outside to hit her only three-point attempt for the quarter. She ended the fourth with 12 points on a perfect 2/2 shooting from the field, 1/1 from the three-point line, and 7/7 from the free-throw line to force the game into overtime.
Overtime was a back-and-forth affair until the final inbound with just 3.8 seconds remaining. Sophomore Sanai Massenburg was the one to inbound the ball, in which she threw a perfectly placed pass to Tiana Carey, who hit the game-winning layup with 1.9 seconds on the clock. Carey had another solid performance, with 18 points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Howard was this game’s workhorse, as she had 10 points and 16 rebounds, including an otherworldly 10 offensive rebounds.
Men’s Team: W, 88-67 vs Del Tech.
Although not as climactic, the Raptors took care of business in a steady manner throughout both halves, scoring 43 and 45 points, respectively. Returning sophomore Ian Pascal led the charge in the first half where he scored 18 of his 24 total points alongside 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals.
MC’s freshman center Jordan Emecheta made his presence known in little time, as he emphatically swatted two shots in just eight minutes of the first half, alongside four rebounds and a steal. Emecheta would finish the game with eight points, eight rebounds, and seven stocks (five blocks, two steals) in just 18 minutes of play.
Returning guard Christopher Levy warmed up in the second half, scoring nine of his twelve points to close the game. Pascal continued to perform in the second as well, scoring six more points and grabbing five more rebounds to conclude the night with 24 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals. He led the game in rebounds alongside power forward Mohammed Lo.
Guards Osman Mansaray and Aimane Elbouazzaoui came off the bench and provided a great source of playmaking, as the two combined for 6 assists with only 1 turnover, running both the fastbreak and half-court offense effectively.
These outings were just the beginning of the prosperous season both Basketball teams are set to have; students, parents, and fans alike should be excited to see what this program has in store for the 2025-26 season.
