The MCC men's basketball team hosted State Fair Community College Tuesday in the Student Activity Center on the Marshalltown Community College campus. The Roadrunners of State Fair Community College have struggled as of late, losing three of their last five games entering the competition while the Tigers have won back to back games against DMACC and Kirkwood Community College after a disappointing loss to Ellsworth Community College. Tuesday night the Tigers and Roadrunners played a tight game that saw 12 lead changes before the Tigers would fall 81-78.
Oscar Kao would be the lone star for the Tigers as he scored 36 points in 40 minutes of play. Kao went 11-18 from the field and 6-12 from beyond the arc and a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line. The rest of the Tigers had a hard time finding the basket as eight of the ten players that participated failed to score more than seven points.
State Fair Community College was able to spread the ball efficiently as five players finished with double-digit point totals. LePear Toles would lead the Roadrunners in scoring as he would go 6-7 from the field and make 6-10 free throws for 18 points. Both teams would commit a large number of turnovers, as the Roadrunners would finish with 14 while the Tigers turned the ball over 19 times.
"Tonight was a little sloppy both offensively and defensively," stated Head Coach Brynjar Brynjarsson. "We need to take care of the ball and take advantage of our possessions. We didn't play our brand of basketball tonight and that resulted in a loss."
Sophomore forward Mohamed Thiam was able to be productive in his limited playing time, going 8-15 from the field and 2-5 from the arc for 18 points on the night. Fouls forced Thiam and Eduardo Lane to the bench early in the second half. Fouls would come early and often for the Tigers as the team would finish with 21 personal fouls. The Roadrunners joined the Tigers in foul trouble partway through the second half as they finish with 22 personal fouls. With both teams in the double bonus early on, the game came down to the final seconds where the Tigers failed to convert on an effort to tie the game.
The Tigers will be back in action of Friday when they Travel to Freeport, Illinois to participate in the Highland Community College Classic. Friday night the Tigers will take on Highland Community College in a rematch of their November 18 matchup that saw the Tigers come out on top in close 74-72 battle. The tournament continues into Saturday when they will take on Moberly Area Community College at 11:00 AM and then play Sauk Valley Community College at 3:00 PM Saturday afternoon.
