Boone, IA—Jamir Coleman (San Antonio, TX/Pro Vision) gave the Marshalltown Community College men's basketball team a chance to head to overtime, but the freshman's last-second three-point shot hit the rim in the Tigers' 66-63 loss to Des Moines Area Community College on Saturday. Coleman led the Tigers with 12 points.
Leading by as many as seven in the closing minutes of Saturday's game with the Bears (6-2), MCC saw its lead disappear as DMACC hit timely shots and converted free throws down the stretch. With five seconds on the clock and trailing by three, Coleman maneuvered his way to the top of the arc and had a chance to force overtime with a look at the basket but to no avail. The Tigers fall to 7-2 on the year.
Sophomores Souf Mensah (Nantes, France/Canarias) and Floyd Preito (Philadelphia, PA/Constitution) each added 10 points in the loss. Mensah tallied eight rebounds and seven assists to fill the stat sheet. Brandon Simmons (Harlem, NY/Teaneck) grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
Saturday's contest opened up with a series of ties and lead changes. Freshman Aaron Hauser's (Marshalltown, IA/Marshalltown) corner three put MCC ahead 15-14 with under nine minutes remaining in the first half, but the Bears responded by scoring 11 of the next 12 points. Hauser connected on another three just before the halftime horn sounded as the Tigers cut the deficit with an 8-2 run to end the half as DMACC lead 27-24.
A three-pointer from Mohamed Thiam (Dekar, Senegal/Canarias) and a pair of free throws from Juan Coffi (Barcelona, Spain/Canarias) put MCC on top 29-28 to start the second half and the Tigers held on to its lead for the next 10 minutes of play. After a three from the Bears put DMACC on top 45-44, MCC went on a 13-5 run to lead 57-50 with 5:38 on the clock.
DMACC followed up a three-point shot with a traditional three-point play to take a 63-61 lead with under two minutes to play. Thiam put back a rebound with 25 seconds on the clock to bring MCC within one, 64-63, but the Bears knocked down a pair of free throw and provided a defensive stance on the final possession for the Tigers to steal the victory.
Next up for MCC is a trip to Iowa Central Community College at 7:00 PM on Nov. 28.
