The road to nationals stopped abruptly for both basketball teams as the Ocelots found themeselves suffering season ending losses in the NJCAA Great Lakes Districts on March 5 and 7.
The men’s team ended their season on March 5 with a loss to St. Clair CC in the Great Lakes District C quarterfinals, 77-65, while the women succumbed to Mid Michigan, 76-72, in the District A semifinals on March 7.
For the men, this was the first time the team qualified for postseason play since 2020. After the first half Schoolcraft was only down by three points, 35-32. Following that, in the second half the Ocelots put up 33 points while St. Clair managed to score 42 points. Freshman guard Mackhi Jackson and sophomore guard/forward Daniel Lee led Ocelotseach with 16 points while Keon Henderson had 11. Freshman guard Makell Johnson-Dobbs led the reserves with 8 points.
The team finished the season with a 14-15 record overall and 6-8 in conference play. For the duration of the season, big point contributions came from Ashton Henderson, Jackson and Lee carried the team right from tipoff. Lee had 460 points on the season, Jackson (406), and Henderson (353). On the flip side, the reserves have been a tremendous help. Makell Johnson-Dobbs had 127 points, Kechan Johnson (89) and Noah Rainge (87).
The Ocelots received post season honors for their hard work. Lee and Jackson received MCCAA Second Team All- Eastern Conference recognition and Ashton Henderson received Honor Mention All-Eastern Conference. Jackson also received Eastern Conference All-Freshman Team honors. Keon Henderson received Eastern Conference All-Defensive Team honors.
As for the women’s team, after the win against Macomb Community College in the Great Lakes District A Quarterfinal, 80-67, on March 5, the team found themselves up against a tough Mid Michigan squad on March 7, who was 27-1 going into the semifinal matchup. In that game we remained behind in points, after the half we had 26 on the board and the Lakers had 36 points. The Ocelots ended the season 17-9 overall and 7-5 in conference play. Respectfully starters, Demi Rodriguez led the Ocelots with 332 points followed by Sharon Smith (304) and Kyra Lawrence (284). Meanwhile, on the reserves, Taylor Williams had 202 points and Halle Rogers had 115.
Ocelots receiving post season honors were Rodriguez, Smith and Lawrence who received MCCAA Eastern Conference All-Second Team. Nevaeh Cable and Williams received MCCAA Eastern Conference All-Third Team honors. Halle Rogers received MCCAA Eastern Conference Honorable Mention. The MCCAA Eastern Conference All-Freshman Team was awarded to Smith and Cable. The MCCAA Eastern Conference All-Defensive Team went to Lawrence.
For more information on future schedules, rosters and stats go to www.schoolcraftocelots.com
