No. 1-ranked Mott Community College dominates Jackson, 85-55

Mott freshman Coreante DeBerry led all scorers with 18 points and seven rebounds.

The no. 1-ranked Mott Community College Bears totally dominated Jackson Wednesday night before another huge crowd at the Steve Schmidt Gymnasium. Mott’s frontline duo of 6-7 Fred Mattison and 6-9 Coreante DeBerry were unstoppable for the second consecutive game as the Bears shot down the Jets, 85-55.

The win is Mott’s 26th in a row. The Bears have not lost a regular season game at home in four years, almost to the day. The program hasn’t lost to a conference foe at home in six years.

Mott actually trailed early, down 8-3 after a few mental mistakes led to turnovers and points for Jackson. Mott head coach Steve Schmidt made some wholesale changes in his lineup and immediately changed the tenor of the game with defensive intensity. From that point, it was all Mott. The Bears finished the half on a 30-8 run led, as usual, by Mattison and DeBerry.

The ability of those two to get inside position coupled with the ability of the Mott guards to feed the post is going to wreak major havoc in the MCCAA this season.

The inside-out game proved too much in the second half, as sophomore point forward Chavis Mattison nailed a couple open triples early in the half. After a couple steals and transition buckets by freshmen Devin Foster and Malik Albert, the game got out of hand.

The blowout gave Schmidt a chance to give some key reserves big minutes, including freshman Myles Busby. The former Niles High School standout played excellent defense and showed some range on a made 3-pointer in the second half.

For the fourth game in a row, Schmidt played his entire roster in the first half.

DeBerry led the way with 18 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Mattison, came off his 25-point average, with 17 points and eight rebounds. Kortez Ross and Chavis Mattison added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Freshman guard Malik Albert had his best game as a Bear with nine points, six steals and four assists.

Mott once again held its opponent to under 40 percent shooting in the game. The Bears forced 23 turnovers and didn’t allow a Jackson player to score double figures. The loss is going to be tough to take for the Jets after their most recent victory over Henry Ford CC, at the time ranked 20th in the national poll.

The Bears will go on a short holiday break before Wednesday’s big game at home versus rival Lansing. The game tips at 7:30 p.m.