Marshalltown, IA—Mohamed Thiam (Dekar, Senegal/Canarias) powered the Marshalltown Community College men's basketball team to a 90-86 Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) victory over Southeastern Community College at the Student Activity Center Wednesday night.
Thiam led MCC with 19 points and 18 rebounds for his 13th double-double of the year. Brandon Simmons (Harlem, NY/Teaneck) contributed another solid effort for the Tigers, scoring 16 points to go along with seven rebounds. Juan Coffi (Barcelona, Spain/Canarias) added 12 points while Floyd Preito (Philadelphia, PA/Constitution chipped in 11. Jamir Coleman (San Antonio, TX/Pro Vision) scored 10 off of the bench in the win.
The Tigers (15-9/2-3) opened up the night with a 12-7 lead over the Blackhawks (12-11/0-5), but Southeastern managed to take a 19-15 lead midway through the first half. Reggie Gradwell (Marshalltown, IA/West Marshall) connected on a pair of three-point shots as part of a 7-0 run to regain the lead for MCC. The Tigers closed out the half on a 17-3 run to take a 40-28 lead into halftime.
MCC led by as many as 16 early on in the second half only to see the Blackhawks close the gap to one, 56-55 with 8:47 to play. A three from Preito sparked the Tigers back up to a double-digit lead. Southeastern pulled back to within one, but MCC managed to succeed from the free throw line down the stretch to hold on for the team's second win over the Blackhawks this season.
The Tigers outrebounded Southeastern 49-35 on the night behind Thiam's performance down low. Wednesday night's game saw a total of 81 free throws with the Tigers connecting on 31 attempts.
MCC is back in action on Feb. 8 with a trip to Quakerdale Prep.
Basketball #Infographic: Marshalltown vs. @scchawkhoops (2/1/2017) W, 90-86 pic.twitter.com/XPXBcbY6xU
— Marshalltown Tigers (@MCC_ATH) February 2, 2017
