Marshalltown, IA— Four players scored in double-figures for the second consecutive night as the Marshalltown Community College men's basketball team held off Highland Community College 80-78 at the Student Activity Center on Saturday night. The game was the final contest of the 2014 Emerson JUCO Classic.
Sophomore Mike Rodriguez (Boston, MA/Redemption Christian Academy) and Terence Shelby Jr. (Peoria, IL/Limestone) combined for 43 points while Merdic Green (Levittown, PA/Harry S. Truman) reach double-digits for the second straight night, adding 15 points. David Stewart (Boston, MA/Madison Park) chipped in 10 points in 20 minutes of action.
Along with a game-high 23 points, Rodriguez added 10 assists for the double-double. Shelby netted 20 points on the night after shooting 8-12 from the floor, including 4-6 from three-point range.
Highland opened up the night on a 6-0 run, but Stewart scored four straight to spark the Tigers. Highland built its lead back to 14-9, but Shelby Jr. came off the bench to score eight points in four possessions for the Tigers to take a 20-19 lead.
Both teams battled back-and-forth, only to see Shelby Jr. ignite the offense once again. The freshman drilled a jumper to commence an 11-2 run. The Tigers went into halftime with a 42-37 lead after Guilherme Verardo (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Esporte Clube Pinheiros) raised above the rim for a dunk as time expired.
Rodriguez, Verardo, and Green, the team's three sophomores, combined for the first 10 points to open the second half. After Highland regained the lead. Shelby sank his fourth trey of the night to put MCC back up 61-59 with under 10 to play.
Neither team could shake its counterpart down the stretch as the largest lead was just three points. Rodriguez drained a deep jumper at the 3:09 mark to take a 75-74 lead. The Tigers held the Cougars without a field goal for the final 4:39 of the game, and a late defensive stop led the Tigers to its second straight victory.
As a team, the Tigers forced 25 turnovers to just 11 miscues for MCC. The Tigers were able to score 30 points off the Highland turnovers.
MCC will hit the road for the first time in 2014-15 as the Tigers travel to Iowa Central Community College on Nov. 3 for a 7:00 PM matchup.
