Freeport, IL—Behind a dominating first half, the Marshalltown Community College men's basketball team advanced to the championship round of the 47th annual HCC William R. Bear Classic, defeating host Highland Community College 83-68. MCC will take on Moberly Area Community College at 9:00 PM Saturday night.
The Tigers scored the first eight points of Saturday afternoons game to take control early on and held on to a double-digit lead for the final 25:30 of the game to defeat the Cougars for the second time this year. MCC defeated Highland 80-78 on Nov. 1 at the Emerson JUCO Classic, hosted by the Tigers.
MCC, playing in the classic for the second straight year, was eliminated from last year's tournament by Highland. With Saturday's loss, the Cougars streak of six consecutive William R. Bear Classic championships came to an end. Moberly defeated Sauk Valley Community College 69-49 in Saturday's other semifinal matchup to reach the championship.
Tyler Miller (Louisville, KY/22ft Academy) threw down a tomahawk dunk and Merdic Green (Levittown, PA/Harry S. Truman) scored four straight to give the Tigers the early 8-0 lead. Late in the half, Miller hit back-to-back layups to give MCC a 29-18 lead with 5:30 to play. Three-point shots on back-to-back possessions from Mike Rodriguez (Boston, MA/Redemption Christian Academy) and Terence Shelby Jr. (Peoria, IL/Limestone) gave MCC a 38-23 advantage. The Tigers shot 54.8 percent (17-31) in the first half to take a 42-26 lead into halftime.
Shelby Jr. connected on two straight threes in the second half to give MCC its biggest lead of the night, 57-38, with under 14 to play. The Cougars eventually brought the game within 10 in the closing minutes, but Shelby Jr.'s fourth three of the game deflated Highland's comeback .
Rodriguez posted his second straight double-double at the classic, finishing the night with 25 points and a career-high 12 assists. Shelby Jr. finished with 12 points while Green and Miller each added 10.
Paulius Sakinis (Nebraska City, NE/Lourdes Central Catholic) tied a career-high with 10 rebounds to go along with nine points. Amir Maddred (Camden, NJ/Camden) scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds, and blocked a personal best six shots.
