Marshalltown, IA—Trailing by two at halftime, sophomore Mike Rodriguez (Boston, MA/Redemption Christian Academy) took over in the second half to lead the Marshalltown Community College men's basketball team to an 82-71 win over Iowa Central Community College at the Student Activity Center on Monday night, snapping a seven-game losing streak.
Rodriguez poured in a game-high 27 points with 23 of those coming in the second half. The sophomore connected on eight of 12 shots in the final frame, including 3-4 from beyond the three-point line. Rodriguez also added nine rebounds and four assists on the night.
As a team, the Tigers (17-10) shot 56.0 percent in the second half to outscore the Tritons 47-34 over the final 20 minutes. MCC finished the night shooting 49.1 percent from the floor and hit five of its 10 long-range shots.
Joining Rodriguez in double-figures was Merdic Green (Levittown, PA/Harry S. Truman) with 13 and nine rebounds, Paulius Sakinis (Nebraska City, NE/Lourdes Central Catholic) with 10 and eight rebounds, and Tyler Miller (Louisville, KY/22ft Academy) with 10 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
Amir Maddred (Camden, NJ/Camden) powered the Tigers early on, scoring the first six points, including a thunderous dunk on an assist from Rodriguez. MCC led by as many as seven, but the Tritons eventually took their first lead of the night at 30-29 with 4:36 remaining in the first half. Iowa Central scored the final bucket in the first, converting a layup with two seconds remaining to take a 37-35 edge into halftime.
Sakinis put home a layup to open up the second half, and Rodriguez scored the next nine for the Tigers, but MCC still trailed 49-46. Terence Shelby Jr. (Peoria, IL/Limestone) came through for the Tigers from deep, hitting a three-point shot to give MCC a 52-49 lead. When the Tritons jumped back on top, 55-54, Shelby Jr. was called on again, and answered with another three to put the Tigers up for good.
Shelby Jr.'s two threes on the night now give him 83 on the year, which ranks fifth among all NJCAA Division I players on the year.
The Tigers have just three games remaining in the regular season. Next up for MCC is a trip to Iowa Western Community College for an Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) matchup at 7:00 PM on Feb. 7.
