MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The MATC men's basketball team could do no wrong when it finally resumed action at home for the first time in over a month against Olive-Harvey Saturday.

Known for their fast paced offense and tenacious defense, the Stormers went on to force 58 defensive stops and sink 57.6 percent of their 3-pointers on a high clip (19-for-33) during their 129-97 home win over the Panthers.

"Our 3-point shooting tonight was crazy," MATC men's basketball head coach Randy Casey said. "We were talking about our 3-point shooting in practice during the week and how we have to find something different because as a team, we've shot 31 percent from three on the year, which is not good…tonight I think we shot 57 percent from three and so it switched.

"We can't think that we are going to shoot that percentage every night, but it was great to see, especially for guys who we expected to be knock-down shooters."

The 19 makes from beyond the arc were more than double the 3-pointers the Stormers average on the season (7.4)

"It kind of just happened," Freshman guard Menzy Carden said. "Olive-Harvey was kind of laying back on the defensive end and so they were giving us space and we were ready to shoot it."

Whether it was the starting lineup or the reserves like Carden coming off the bench, the Stormers' offense looked fluid with crisp passes and ball movement all evening long. As a team, they combined for 34 assists and totaled eight separate double-digit scorers, five of which came from the bench.

Carden led the Stormers with a team-high 17 points, followed by freshman Noah Daniels (15 points), freshman Ky'Moni Hunt (14), freshman Julian Valentine (13), sophomore Dane Dailing (12), sophomore Matthew Hoarde (11), sophomore Cyrus Little (11), and sophomore Ian Murphy (10).

"Everybody did their part," Casey said. "The people who came off the bench knocked down shots. Part of it was our tempo too. We got out and ran and that's what our program is known for and we just haven't been doing it [as of late]." MATC's quick tempo was evident from the get-go. MATC held Olive-Harvey scoreless for the first five minutes, forcing them to go 0-for-7 with four turnovers. MATC's strong defense helped its offense get out in transition, which allowed them to open the game on a 15-5 run.

"I think our start was attributed to our defense," Casey said. "Our zone has been pretty good and we just have to rely on that a little bit more since our man-to-man defense isn't really where it needs to be. Our zone seems to be pretty good and so I think we played really well at the beginning, rotating around in our zone, and holding them to one shot."

The early 10-point lead was all the Stormers needed to cruise into halftime up 60-37. From there, MATC went on to outscore Olive-Harvey 69-61 during the second half to earn the 32-point win. As a result, the Stormers improved to 7-12 on the season and 4-2 at home.

"It's really fun to play in a game like we had today," Carden said. "That's the true game of basketball, moving the ball around and playing the game right. Always making the right plays."

STAT BOOK
Carden led the Stormers with 17 points, nine of which came off a 3-for-4 performance from beyond the arc. Daniels contributed 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Hunt finished with 14 points, four assists, one rebound and a steal. Valentine tallied 13 points, seven assists, four rebounds, and a pair of steals.

UP NEXT
MATC (7-12) will host Malcom X College at 7 p.m. Tuesday.