Marshalltown, IA—The Marshalltown Community College men's basketball team produced on all levels Tuesday night as the Tigers cruised to a 103-59 victory over Little Priest Tribal College at the Student Activity Center. Mike Rodriguez (Boston, MA/Redemption Christian Academy) scored a game-high 27 points in the win.
Terence Shelby Jr. (Peoria, IL/Limestone) continued to impress from the floor, shooting 50 percent en route to a career-best 26 points. Merdic Green (Levittown, PA/Harry. S Truman) recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, including eight in the first half.
Guilherme Verardo (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Esporte Clube Pinheiros) knocked down five three-point shots to finish the night with 15 points. Vincent Lasley (Tama, IA/South Tama) provided another strong performance off the bench, tallying a personal-best 13 rebounds in 26 minutes of action. Rodriguez added nine assists to go along with five steals on the night.
The Warriors jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead in the opening minutes until Shelby entered the game and drained a three to ignite the offense. Shelby Jr. and Green put together a quick 9-0 run to put MCC up 19-12. The Tigers continued to push to close out the first half, finishing up the period on a 26-13 spurt.
Rodriguez drained a pair of threes early on in the second half to keep things going. Lasley gave MCC its biggest lead of the night, 80-47 on a three-point shot with 8:34 to play. Shelby Jr. scored the final four points of the game to give MCC its first 100-point scoring effort of the year.
The Tigers have improved its scoring total in each of the last four games and are now averaging 87.2 points per game.
MCC will travel to Ottumwa, IA for the Indian Hills Classic this weekend. The Tigers will take on South Plains College, ranked No. 3 in the preseason NJCAA Division I Poll, at 4:30 PM on Friday.
