Marshalltown, IA—The Marshalltown Community College Men's Basketball team and Des Moines Area Community College provided plenty of excitement at the Student Activity Center on Saturday, but it was the Bears that escaped with an 82-81 overtime victory.
In a game that saw 16 ties and 14 lead changes, the Bears (8-3) survived a three-point shot from half court from Tyler Miller (Louisville, KY/22ft Academy) that forced overtime. Miller finished the day with a career-high 17 points, all coming in the second half and overtime periods. The sophomore also grabbed seven rebounds, three steals, and dished out five assists in the loss.
Jamil Maddred (Camden, NJ/Camden) came off the bench to also tally a career-high 17 points coming on 6-9 shooting, including 3-5 from three-point range. Christal Malalu (Eindhoven, Netherlands/Willem Koning I) scored 10 first half points and finished with 14 while Vincent Lasley (Tama, IA/South Tama) scored 11 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
Saturday's matchup provided almost identical numbers throughout the stat sheet. The Tigers shot 44.8 percent from the floor compared to a 45.3 percent clip from the Bears. DMACC made eight three-point shots while MCC drained seven. DMACC won the rebounding battle by a 47-43 edge but the Tigers committed three fewer turnovers than their opposition.
The contest never saw a lead bigger than six from either side and that came at the 15:16 mark of the first half after two free throws from Amir Maddred (Camden, NJ/Camden) gave MCC an 11-5 lead. The Tigers didn't trail in the first half until the 8:22 mark, but Jamil Maddred drilled back-to-back three-point shots to put MCC back on top, 24-21. The Bears eventually regained the lead and took a 38-36 lead into halftime.
Guilherme Verardo (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Esporte Clube Pinheiros) hit a three-point shot to open the second half for the Tigers as neither side led by more than one throughout the opening portion of the second frame. After trailing for a six-minute stretch, the Tigers went back on top as Miller hit back-to-back layups to give MCC a 58-56 edge and forced DMACC into a timeout with 7:16 remaining.
Jamil Maddred connected on his third three of the night and Paulius Sakinis (Klaipeda, Lithuania/Lourdes Central Catholic) hit a pair of free throws to put MCC up by five, 63-58. Holding on to a five point lead with just over two minutes to go, the Tigers saw DMACC go on an 8-2 run to take a 70-69 lead. Jamil Maddred went 1-2 at the free throw line to tie the game at 70, but the Bears hit a three-point shot at the top of the key for a three-point lead and only three seconds to play.
Following the shot, MCC immediately inbounded the ball and Miller took two dribbles and heaved a last-second shot from just beyond half court that hit nothing but the bottom of the net to force a five minute overtime period.
Miller continued to have the hot hand for the Tigers to start the extra session as the sophomore scored the first four points of the period. MCC led the entire period until DMACC hit a pair of free throws with 29 seconds remaining. Jamil Maddred was fouled and went 1-2 at the free throw line to tie the game at 81. An MCC foul sent the Bears to the line with eight seconds on the clock. After hitting the first of two free throws, Miller grabbed the defensive rebound and drove the length of the court and drew contact under the basket, but his shot rolled off of the rim as the Bears escaped with the victory.
The Tigers went 14-31 from the free throw line on the night compared to the Bears' 16-28 effort from the stripe.
Next up for the Tigers is a home doubleheader with the MCC Women's Basketball team on Dec. 2. The men host Central JV at 5:00 PM and the women take on North Iowa Area Community College at 7:00 PM at the Student Activity Center.
