The MCC men's basketball team hosted the Bears of Des Moines Area Community College Saturday afternoon in the Student Activity Center. The Bears came into the contest 8-1 and riding a four game win streak. The Tigers entered the contest 6-2 and coming off a tough loss to Ellsworth Community College last Tuesday but would get back in the win column after handed the Bears their second loss of the season. Oscar Kao would score 25 points in the Tigers 77-68 victory.
"We did not come out of the locker room ready to play in the first half," stated Head Coach Brynjar Brynjarsson. "We had a sloppy first half and managed to go into half tied, the second half was much better. We were able to move the ball and get open looks and made the most of our shots. It was nice to see Oscar get in a rhythm in the second half as well."
The Tigers had issues at the free throw line as the team went 13-22 on the night. Kao would go 7-10 from the arc while Mohamed Thiam would snag another double double scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Kelton Edwards was nearly perfect on the night going 6-6 from the field while missing his lone free throw attempt for 13 points. The Bears were led in scoring by Wali Parks who made several big plays throughout the night as the sophomore guard scored 18 points while Antowine Locke and DeShawn Davidson would each drop 13.
The 7-2 Tigers will be back in action Wednesday when they travel to Cedar Rapids to take on Kirkwood Community College at 7:00. Kirkwood has a talented team this season as they have opened the season by going 5-2. Kirkwood is led in scoring by sophomore guard, Chris King who has averaged over 18 points a game in their first seven contest. The game will be streamed live on the Kirkwood Athletics website and can be viewed by clicking on the 'Tiger Live Stream' on mccathletics.com.