Marshalltown, IA—A barrage of three-point shots sparked the Marshalltown Community College men's basketball team midway through its contest with Indian Hills Community College on Wednesday night, but the Tigers came up short in the closing minutes, falling to the Warriors 79-71 at home.
Jamir Coleman's (San Antonio, TX/Pro Vision) layup with 5:05 to play tied the game at 64-all, but the Warriors scored four-straight to pull ahead and their lead never relinquished as MCC dropped to 14-8 overall and 1-2 in Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) play. Indian Hills improved to 18-4 overall and 3-1 in league play.
Freshman Mohamed Thiam (Dekar, Senegal/Canarias) led five players in double-digits with 18 points. Brandon Simmons (Harlem, NY/Teaneck) added 13 points and Souf Mensah (Nantes, France/Canarias) chipped in 12. Coleman and BJ Millard (Dunwoody, GA/Dunwoody) each scored 10 in the loss.
The Tigers knocked down eight three-point shots on the night, including four from Thiam. The long-distance shooting kept MCC in the game as the Tiger defense limited the Warriors to just 1-11 from beyond the arc. In MCC's three conference games this season, its opponents are shooting just 20.0% (7-35) from three-point range.
MCC held the Warriors, who received votes in this week's NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Poll, below their season average of 87.5 points per game and have limited each ICCAC foe below their season scoring average this season.
The Tigers' big momentum shift came near the end of the first half against Indian Hills as MCC connected on four-straight three-point shots to end the half, capped by a buzzer-beating trey from Millard to take a 35-34 lead into halftime.
Millard and Thiam each buried a three to open the second half and the Tigers held a 41-37 lead. A quick 9-0 run from the Warriors put the visitors back on top only to see MCC erase the deficit. Coleman scored eight of 10 points in less than three minutes to tie the game at 64, but it was Indian Hills who prevailed at the Student Activity Center.
The Tigers travel to Northeast Community College to take on the Hawks at 7:00 PM on Saturday night.
Take a look at the final stats from tonight's battle between the Tigers and @IHCCAthletics pic.twitter.com/2AfnbTizmL
— Marshalltown Tigers (@MCC_ATH) January 26, 2017
