Ottumwa, IA—The Marshalltown Community College men's basketball team led by as many as 12 points against No. 3 ranked South Plains College, but fell late to the Texans, 94-85. Terence Shelby Jr. (Peoria, IL/Limestone) and Mike Rodriguez (Boston, MA/Redemption Christian Academy) combined to score 55 points on the opening night of the Bowling RV Classic hosted by Indian Hills Community College.
It was all Tigers early on as Paulius Sakinis (Nebraska City, NE/Lourdes Central Catholic) converted three layups early on to give the Tigers a 9-5 lead. Guilherme Verardo (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Esporte Clube Pinheiros) drained a three to put MCC up eight. Minutes later Verardo sustained a foot injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the game.
Rodriguez hit a pair of free throws to give the Tigers its biggest lead of 12 with under 11 minutes to play. The Texans chipped away but Shelby Jr. connected on his first three of the game to put the Tigers back up by double-digits, 34-23. South Plains was able to make a late run and closed out the first half on a 12-2 spurt as MCC held a slim 36-35 lead at the break.
The Texans controlled the tempo in the opening minutes of the second half and were able to grab its first lead of the game. After scoring just three points on 1-7 shooting in the first half, Shelby Jr. caught fire in the second half. Trailing 42-38, the freshman drained back-to-back three-point shots to put MCC on top. A back-and-forth battle ensued, but the three-pointers kept falling for MCC as Rodriguez connected on one of his own minutes later to keep the Tigers ahead.
Shelby Jr. snapped a 7-0 run from the Texans with another three and sparked a 12-2 run for the Tigers. Shelby Jr. sunk two free throws to cap the run and tie the game at 66 aside. The Texans slowly pulled ahead, but Shelby's long-range shooting continued to keep the Tigers afloat.
The freshman buried another three to bring MCC within five, 83-78, but the Texans were able to hit their free throws down the stretch to avoid the upset.
Shelby Jr. finished with a career-high 29 points thanks to six three-point shots. The freshman also went 7-7 from the free throw line. Rodriguez collected his sixth-straight 20-point game to open the season and ninth straight dating back to the final three games of the 2013-14 season. Rodriguez filled the stat sheet with five rebounds, eight assists, and three steals.
Plagued by foul trouble, Sakinis was able to contribute 12 points on 6-6 shooting from the floor in just 12 minutes of action. The freshman grabbed nine rebounds, with seven coming on the offensive end.
The Tigers resume play at the Bowling RV Classic tomorrow against McCook Community College (NE) at 4:30 PM.
