Marshalltown, IA—Freshman Mohamed Thiam (Dekar, Senegal/Canarias) had a career-night for the Marshalltown Community College men's basketball team as the Tigers dropped Iowa Central Community College 93-82 on Thursday night. Thiam finished with 34 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Tigers.
MCC turned a six-point halftime lead into a double-digit advantage in the second half behind a dominant performance from Thiam. The Tigers won their third game of the year over the Tritons to finish the first half of the season with a 12-5 record.
Thiam shot an efficient 13-17 from the floor, including 3-5 from three-point range while knocking down all five of his free throws to finish with a career-high in points. The freshman grabbed seven offensive rebounds to record his 10th double-double of the season.
Brandon Simmons (Harlem, NY/Teaneck) also collected a double-double for the Tigers, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The sophomore also blocked five shots in the win. Sophomore Souf Mensah (Nantes, France/Canarias) added a third double-double for the Tigers while filling the stat sheet. Mensah scored 12 points with 10 rebounds and a team-high seven assists.
Thiam's night got started by scoring the first eight points for the Tigers. Iowa Central led 20-19, but the Tigers put together a 10-1 run to pull ahead. Thiam scored the final eight points of the half for MCC as the Tigers went into halftime leading 35-29.
Juan Coffi (Barcelona, Spain/Canarias) hit a corner three to start the second half and the Tiger offense erupted. A layup from Simmons put MCC up 55-37 just 4:05 into the half. The Tritons slowly fought back, but MCC continued to expand its lead as Floyd Preito (Philadelphia, PA/Constitution) drilled a three to put MCC up 76-60 with 8:03 to play. After the deficit was cut to eight, Aaron Hauser (Marshalltown, IA/Marshalltown) hit a three to take an 85-74 lead. The Tigers carried out the win for its third over the Tritons this year.
MCC shot 49.4 percent from the floor and hit eight three-point shots in the win. Behind the three double-doubles, the Tigers outrebounded Iowa Central 49-34 in the win.
MCC welcomes the holiday break and will return to action on Jan. 9 at Ellsworth Community College.
