The Marshalltown Community College men's basketball varsity reserve team made its home debut Thursday night. The Tigers made a late rally, but fell to the visiting William Penn University JV Statesmen 71-62.
Four different players scored in double-digits for the Tigers, led by Tony Smith's (Marshalltown, IA/Marshalltown) 17 after connecting on three three-point shots. Marquas Gafeney (Waterloo, IA/Waterloo East) added 12 points and eight rebounds while Jonas Perkis (Trondheim, Norway/Charlottenlund VGS) and Treatment Ruot (Des Moines, IA/East) contributed 10 points each. Brian Patterson (Lake Station, IN/Lake Station) tied for the team-high with eight rebounds.
MCC trailed for a majority of the first half, but a three from Ruot tied the game at 19. The Tigers stayed in contention, but trailed 34-27 at the half.
The Tigers trailed by as many as 15 on multiple occasions in the second half, but a late 14-3 run pulled MCC within two. Trailing 52-39, Smith scored seven of the team's next 14 points as MCC trailed 55-53 with under five minutes to play. The Statesmen built back an eight-point edge, but another three from Smith kept the Tigers alive. William Penn was able to hold on down the stretch for the win.
The varsity reserve team is back in action at the Student Activity Center against Iowa Central JV at 3:00 PM on Sunday afternoon.
