This week Marshalltown Community College will welcome men and women's basketball teams to the Student Activity Center for the eighth annual Emerson Classic. Participating this year on the men's side will be the Marshalltown Community College, Iowa Lakes Community College, Highland Community College, and William Penn JV. Participating on the women's side will be Marshalltown Community College, Des Moines Area Community College, Moberly Area Community College, and Central Community College. Below is a preview of the teams competing in the tournament.
Men:
Marshalltown Community College (4-1)
The Marshalltown Community College Tigers are off to a good start to the 2017-18 season. The team is 4-0 at home this season defeating Graceland University JV, Iowa Central Community College, Presentation College VR, and Little Priest Tribal College. Head Coach Brynjar Brynjarsson is in his 13th season with the Tigers and is excited about where this team can go, "We have a great group of guys with a well-rounded skill set, and we have the potential to be a great team come tournament time." The Tigers are led by sophomore Mohamed Thiam, the sophomore forward averages over 19 points a game while grabbing nine rebounds a game. The Tigers first game will be Friday night at 7:00 pm when they take on William Penn JV.
Iowa Lakes Community College (3-1)
The Lakers of Iowa Lakes Community College start the season ranked 18th in the NJCAA Division II preseason poll. The Lakers have been a scoring machine so for this season averaging over 104 points per game. Head Coach Troy Larson has the team going in the right direction in his 13th season. The Lakers are led in scoring by freshmen Nick Wagner who averages 22 points per game and sophomore Kyle Beisch who has averaged 18 points per game. The Lakers will be in action Friday when they take on Highland Community College at 3:00.
Highland Community College 1-1
The Highland basketball team compete in Region IV and are members of the Arrowhead Conference. The Highland Community College men's basketball team is under new direction with first year head coach Chad Boudreay. Boudreay currently has one of the top scorers in their conference in freshmen Jay'Quan McCloud who has scored 20 and 32 points in their first two competitions this season. Highland will take on Iowa Lakes Community College at 3:00 on Friday.
William Penn University JV
The Statesmen are coached by John Henry who is in his 17th as head coach for his Alma Mater. Henry became the Statesmen head coach seven games into the 2001-2002 season and has since turned the program into a perennial power. He has headed six teams to conference titles and seven to NAIA Division I or II National Tournaments. Eleven of his squads have reached the Conference Tournament Finals, while the 2013 team won a school-record 34 games, highlighted by a 20-game winning streak. With the Statesmen varsity team continuing to be a national power, you can expect the junior varsity squad to be highly competitive in Fridays 7:00 match up with the Tigers.
Women:
Marshalltown Community College (2-2)
The Tigers are off to a decent start to their 2017-18 season with wins over Southwestern Community College and Little Priest Tribal College. The Tigers are coached by 5th year Head Coach Steve Garber. With five returning sophomores from last season and a returning All-Region selection in Claudia Morente, the Tigers are looking to improve on last year's 11-18 record. The team is averaging 56 points a game with three sophomores leading the way. Sophomores Alyssa Roth, Loralei Siliga and Claudia Morente each average over 12 points a game for the Tigers. The Tigers will be in action on Friday at 5:00 when they take on Central Community College.
Des Moines Area Community College (4-1)
The Bears have had success in recent years under head coach Steve Krafcisin. Krafcisin is in his 13th year as the DMACC women's basketball coach, recording a 273-108 record in that time. This season the Bears are ranked #15 in NJCAA Division II women's basketball. The bears are off to a hot start averaging over 70 points per game. Averaging 19 points a game, sophomore guard Joniqua Clacrk will be a player to watch for the Bears. DMACC will be in action Friday at 1:00 when they take on Moberly Area Community College.
Moberly Area Community College (3-0)
The Greyhounds have started the season a perfect 3-0 due to their high scoring rate and tough defense. The team has won their first three games with scores of 86-15, 93-40, and 86-40. Chad Killinger is in his 7th season as head coach of the Greyhound women's basketball team. Under Killinger, the Greyhounds have recorded a 115-70 record. Moberly Area will take on DMACC at 1:00 on Friday afternoon.
Central Community College (2-3)
The Raiders are under new direction as new head coach Billy Perkins takes over. Perkins has had a long and successful coaching career at the High School level and now enters the collegiate ranks. His team is averaging over 73 points per game this season led by sophomores Quenshae Love and Maddy Wolfe who each average over 16 points per game. The Raiders will look to continue their high scoring affair when they take on Marshalltown at 5:00 on Friday night.
Saturday's Schedule
1:00 DMACC vs Central Community College (Women)
3:00 Iowa Lakes Community College vs William Penn University JV (Men)
5:00 Marshalltown Community College vs Moberly Area Community College (Women)
7:00 Marshalltown Community College vs Highland Community College (Men)
