Seahawks Drop Two at Holiday Classic

The Cecil College men's basketball team came out of the Cecil College Basketball Holiday Classic with two losses to nationally-ranked Division II opponents, Monroe Community College and Cuyahoga Community College. The Seahawks fall to 6-7 overall.

For the second time this season, the Seahawks were outscored 79-78 by the Tribunes of Monroe Community College on Friday night, although Cecil College showed signs of improvement. Since losing on November 11 by a score of 82-69, the Seahawks were able to cut the margin to a single point. Monroe Community College is among the nine teams receiving votes in the NJCAA Division II national poll.

In a back and forth battle, Cecil College was able to lead by as many as ten points with 10:47 remaining in the first half off a dunk from freshman guard Cornell Corbin. Corbin tallied 11 points and seven assists on the day. In just nine minutes, the Tribunes were able to tie the game at 40, but back-to-back layups from freshman forward Carl Bradley gave the Seahawks the 42-40 edge to head into the halftime break.

Through out the game, the two teams would experience 10 different ties and 14 different lead changes until the Seahawks were faced with being down one point with 0:08 left on the clock. After a timeout by Head Coach Ed Durham, the Seahawks were unable to execute the play and convert points to win the game. Sophomore guard Greg Alexander finished the game with 23 points and four assists, followed by 14 points and four assists by sophomore guard Caleb Johnson. 

In Saturday's match up against number one-ranked Cuyahoga Community College, the Seahawks' slow start was never able to be restored. Cuyahoga scored the first 19 unanswered points of the game until a made three-pointer from Jordan Griggs put the Seahawks on the board five minutes into the game. Cecil College was able to cut the lead to four, but could not execute a lead change.

Jordan Griggs was able to tally 24 points, including six made shots from beyond the arc against the top team in Division II basketball. Sophomore forward Keyon Givens added 11 points and three rebounds followed by freshman guard Kamden Stubblefield's 10 points and five rebounds.

Cecil College men's basketball will return to action after the holiday break on Saturday, January 6 to face conference rival Hagerstown Community College. Tip off in Hagerstown, Md. is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.