Marshalltown, IA—The Marshalltown Community College men's basketball team was unable to capitalize on a halftime lead against Iowa Western Community College as the Tigers suffered a 96-87 Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) loss at home on Saturday night. After starting the season 16-3, the Tigers are now 16-7.
Leading 37-33 at intermission, the Tigers built their lead to as much as eight to open the second half, but the Reivers managed to fight back thanks to a 16-2 run that propelled the visiting team to a 58-50 lead. Iowa Western shot 54.8 percent in the second half and hit four of seven three-point shots after making just 2-12 in the first half.
With the loss, the Tigers are now 0-3 in league play. Iowa Western earned their first conference win of the season and are now 1-2.
Despite the loss, Mike Rodriguez (Boston, MA/Redemption Christian Academy) tied his career-high with 33 points, his third career 30-point game. Rodriguez also added seven rebounds and seven assists. Amir Maddred (Camden, NJ/Camden) scored 15 points while Christal Malalu ('s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands/Koning Willem 1) grabbed a team-best 11 rebounds.
The two sides appeared evenly matched through the opening minutes of the first half. A Terence Shelby Jr. (Peoria, IL/Limestone) three gave the Tigers an 11-8 advantage in the opening minutes to spark a quick 7-0 run for the Tigers. The Reivers eventually took the lead momentarily, but five straight points from Rodriguez and a layup from David Stewart (Boston, MA/Madison Park) gave MCC the cushion to end the first half.
Iowa Western's 16-2 run in the second half was highlighted by a series of three-point shots to push the Tigers away. MCC brought the game within four on three separate occasions down the stretch, but the Reivers closed out the game shooting 22-26 from the free throw line in the final five minutes to knock off the Tigers.
MCC returns to ICCAC action Jan. 21 with a road match against Northeast Community College at 7:00 PM.
