Marshalltown, IA—The Marshalltown Community College Men's Basketball team suffered its first loss of the 2015-16 season on Wednesday night, falling 90-71 to Kirkwood Community College at the Student Activity Center. Nick Cross (Beverly, MA/Beverly) scored a team-high 13 points for the Tigers.
After winning its first three games of the regular season, the Tigers ran into an undefeated Kirkwood (5-0) team. MCC led just once in the game, a 30-29 advantage at the 5:20 mark of the first half. The Eagles outscored the Tigers 48-36 in the second half to pull away for the win.
Cross led five players in double-figures as the freshman sank three three-point shots on the night. Through four games, Cross is shooting 46.7 percent (10-21) from beyond the arc. Amir Maddred (Camden, NJ/Camden) and Denzel Ubiaro (London, England/City of London Academy) each contributed 12 points while Vincent Lasley (Tama, IA/South Tama) and Christal Malalu (Eindhoven, Netherlands/Koning Willem I) added 11 apiece.
Lasley led the Tigers with seven rebounds while Tyler Miller (Louisville, KY/22ft Academy) grabbed six boards and dished out four assists for the Tigers.
Kirkwood jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead before sophomore Guilherme Verardo (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Esporte Clube Pinheiros) knocked down a three-point shot. The Tigers tied the game at 12 on a jump shot from Malalu with 12:23 to play in the first half. The Eagles went back on top only to see Verardo knock down another three to tie the game at 21. Cross connected on a long-range jumper to give MCC its first lead, but Kirkwood went on an 11-5 run to close out the half and took a 42-35 edge into the locker room.
The Eagles built their lead to double-digits to open the second half until Cross drained another three to pull MCC within seven, 50-43 with 14:59 remaining. It was all Kirkwood the rest of the way as the Eagles led by at least 10 points for a majority of the second half.
The Tigers were efficient from the floor, reaching the 50.0 percent mark for the fourth straight game, but 23 turnovers proved costly for the home team. Both sides were even in the rebounding category, grabbing 33 boards each. The Eagles connected on 52.5 percent of their shots and went 10-19 from three-point range to bury the Tigers.
MCC returns to action right away with the Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel Classic beginning Thursday night. The three-day event, paired with the MCC women's team, pairs the Tigers and Indiana Elite Basketball Academy at 7:00 PM. The women open up the classic with a 5:00 PM match against Mount Mercy JV on Thursday.
For full coverage of the Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel Classic, visit the Classic Homepage.
