Tribunes drop Penn Valley at nationals

DANVILLE, Illinois - Coming off a heartbreaking loss the night before, it would've been understandable had the MCC men's basketball team come out a bit flat in Friday's consolation bracket game.

But these Tribunes proved to be tougher than that, and the result was an 84-70 win over MCC-Penn Valley at the NJCAA Division II national tournament.

Monroe (31-4) will close out the season on Saturday at 3 p.m. Eastern, taking on South Suburban College in the 5th/6th place game.  A win would give the Tribs 32 victories, which would tie the all-time single-season mark set in 1994.

Monroe came out strong in the opening 20 minutes, forcing Penn Valley into 10-of-34 shooting from the field while opening up a 38-23 lead. Penn Valley found its stroke in the second half, but the Tribunes kept pace to come away with the win.

Arnold Fripp (Brooklyn, NY/Brooklyn Collegiate) had a huge game, finishing with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Jahvari Josiah (Brooklyn, NY/Beach Channel) added 19 points, five assists, and four rebounds.

Dallas Gary put in his third outstanding game of the tournament, tallying 17 points, eight boards, and four assists. MCC finished 25-of-35 from the charity stripe and outrebounded Penn Valley 44-37.