The MCC men's basketball team traveled to Burlington, Iowa Saturday night to take on the Blackhawks of Southeastern Community College. This was the second game between the two teams this season, with the Tigers dropping the first game 71-66 at home in the Student Activity Center. The Tigers have won three straight games including two against ICCAC rivals in the Hawks of Northeast Community College and the Reivers of Iowa Western Community College. The Tigers would be unable to pick up the win Saturday night, falling to the Blackhawks 83-74.
The Tigers saw two standout performances in the tough loss by sophomore Mohamed Thiam and freshman Bassirou Ndiaye. Thiam ended the night shooting 6-12 from the field and a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line for 20 points while Ndiaye would go 6-9 from the field and 5-7 from the free throw line for 17 points. Edwardo Lane came off the bench and went 4-6 for eight points on the night.
Turnovers hampered the Tiger offense all game long, committing 21 turnovers compared to Southeastern's 13.
"We had opportunities all game long to create some distance but we were too sloppy with the ball," stated Head Coach Brynjar Brynjarsson. "We were a little careless with the ball which led to costly turnovers at the end of the game. We will get back to work Monday and clean it up."
The Tigers will be back in action Wednesday, January 7 when the team will travel to Fort Dodge, Iowa to take on the Tritons of Iowa Central Community College. This will be the second game between the two teams with the Tigers taking the first, 86-72 back on November 6. The Tritons are currently 17-6 after defeating Ellsworth Community College on Saturday night. The game will be streamed live on the Iowa Central Athletics YouTube channel, with links posted on MCC Athletics social media outlets.