Cedar Rapids, IA—Despite a 12 point halftime lead, the Marshalltown Community College men's basketball team was unable to hold off the Kirkwood Community College Eagles on the road, dropping a 74-64 decision in a nonconference matchup. The Tigers fall to 16-4 on the year while Kirkwood improves to 12-3.
The Tigers received plenty of support off of the bench in the first half as Terence Shelby Jr. (Peoria, IL/Limestone) and Vincent Lasley (Tama, IA/South Tama) provided early baskets for a quick 7-0 run. MCC led by as many as nine before Kirkwood rallied to pull within three. An emphatic dunk from Christal Malalu ('s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands /Koning Willem 1) sparked a 13-4 run to end the first half as MCC led 34-22 at the break.
MCC maintained a comfortable lead in the opening minutes of the second frame as Lasley hit a free throw at the 11:52 mark to give the Tigers their biggest lead of the night, 48-36. A series of MCC turnovers paired with multiple Kirkwood three-point shots allowed the Eagles to fight back and tie the game at 51 with 7:15 to play.
Forced to change its game-plan, the Tigers went cold from the field, going almost four minutes without a field goal, allowing the Eagles to take their first lead since the opening minutes of the first half. Damion Smith (Boston, MA/La Lumiere Prep) converted a layup at the 4:14 mark to stay in contention as Kirkwood led 61-59.
Kirkwood, ranked No. 9 in this week's NJCAA Division II poll, responded with nine straight points. A late three from Mike Rodriguez (Boston, MA/Redemption Christian Academy) proved to be too little too late as the Tigers snapped their 10-game winning streak.
Rodriguez finished the night with a game-high 21 points. Lasley collected 11 rebounds while Shelby Jr. finished with 12 points.
The Tigers held a marginal 32-10 advantage in bench points, but a 14.3 shooting percentage from three-point range, paired with 20 turnovers buried the Tigers.
The loss is the second of the season to the Eagles for MCC. Kirkwood dropped the Tigers 90-85 on Nov. 8 at the Student Activity Center.
Next up for MCC is the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) season-opener as the Tigers travel to Southeastern Community College at 7:00 PM on Saturday night.
