Estherville, IA—Merdic Green (Levittown, PA/Harry S. Truman) carried the Marshalltown Community College men's basketball team throughout the second half, but saved his best moment for the final second of play as the sophomore tipped in the game-winning shot at the buzzer to give the Tigers a 79-77 win at Iowa Lakes Community College Wednesday night.
The Tigers took over the lead at the 10:53 mark of the first half and stayed on top until the Lakers sunk two free throws with 10 seconds to play in the game to tie things up at 77. On the ensuing inbound, the Tigers drove the length of the court and Terence Shelby Jr.'s (Peoria, IL/Limestone) game-winning attempt rimmed out, but it was Green that corralled the rebound and beat the horn to lift the Tigers to 15-3 on the year.
Green reached the 20-point plateau for the third time this year after hitting 10 of 17 shots from the floor, including the sophomore's first career game-winner. Green also led the Tigers with a game-high nine rebounds and three assists. Green, standing at 6-3, leads the team with 6.6 rebounds per game this year.
"The last few trips down the court I was so focused on defense," stated Green following Wednesday's triumph, "I just wanted to make sure we got a stop, but on our final possession I saw an opening in the lane after Terence's shot, I knew I had a chance to get to the rim and tip it in. It was a great hard-fought win for our team."
Joining Green in double-figures was Shelby Jr. with 20 points and Amir Maddred (Camden, NJ/Camden) with 12.
The Lakers scored 15 points in just over two minutes to open the game as Iowa Lakes held a 15-7 lead over the Tigers. MCC battled back as Vincent Lasley (Tama, IA/South Tama) hit a layup at the 10:53 mark to put the Tigers up for the first time, 20-19. MCC extended the lead to six in the closing seconds as Maddred buried a three to give the Tigers a 45-39 lead at halftime.
The Tigers led by as many as eight in the second half, but the Lakers brought the game within one on three separate occasions. Shelby Jr. hit two crucial free throws to give MCC a 77-71 lead with 1:06 on the clock, only to see the Lakers string together six points to tie the game at 77, setting the stage for Green's heroics at the buzzer.
The Tigers shots 50.8 percent on the night and hit five of their 10 three-point shots. MCC committed just seven turnovers on the night, the team's second-lowest total of the year.
MCC will be off for the next 19 days for the holiday break. When the Tigers return, they will host Quakerdale Prep on Jan. 5.
