MILWAUKEE, Wis. — No. 12 Milwaukee Area Technical College leaned on its defense early and its depth throughout, turning stops into separation on the way to an 88–66 win over No. 23 Bryant & Stratton on Tuesday night. The Stormers improved to 16–3 and pushed their win streak to nine games, continuing one of the strongest midseason runs in NJCAA Division II.
"Going into the game we knew that it was going to be a battle," Stormers head coach
Randy Casey said. "Facing a team that is ranked 23rd in the country, we emphasized to the guys this week that we take care of business on the defensive end of the floor. We were able to hold Bryant & Stratton to shooting under 36 percent from the field, which was one of our keys to getting the win tonight"
Bryant & Stratton landed the first punch, taking a 12–7 lead behind Vontez Dent's early activity in the paint. But once MATC settled in defensively, the game flipped. The Stormers forced a string of empty possessions, held the Bobcats without a field goal for more than three minutes, and used a 9–0 run to regain control. From there, MATC's pressure and rebounding dictated the pace. A late surge capped by a
Jayden Hackett buzzer‑beating three sent the Stormers into halftime with a 41–31 advantage.
MATC wasted little time stretching the margin even further after the break. To begin the third, Hackett drilled a three on the opening possession,
Noah Daniels followed with another from deep, and the Stormers ripped off a 13–3 burst to push the lead to 54–34.The 20-point advantage swelled to 30 midway through the half as MATC's defense continued to smother the Bobcats, who shot just 35.3 percent from the field and 7-for-33 from beyond the arc.
The Stormers' statistical edge underscored the dominant performance. MATC shot 54.7 percent from the floor and 45 percent from three while dominating the glass 40–23. They doubled Bryant & Stratton in assists (20–9), outscored the Bobcats 38–24 in the paint, and received 32 points from a bench that helped sustain the pace and pressure for a full 40 minutes.
Sophomore guard
Jayden Hackett led the way with 26 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals while knocking down five threes. It marked his third straight 20‑point performance and his sixth game this season with 20 or more.
Sophomore guard
Noah Daniels added 18 points, six rebounds and three assists, and freshman forward
Turon Rivers delivered 14 points and seven boards off the bench. Sophomore forward
Ozzie Johnson scored 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting, and freshman forward
Jason Lawani posted 10 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore guard
Qi'Andre Washington rounded out the balanced effort with six points, five rebounds and three assists.
UP NEXT
No. 12 MATC (16–3) will return home to host Kishwaukee at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.