Iowa Falls, IA- The Marshalltown Community College Basketball team fell to NIACC but defeated Ellsworth in the inaugural Dale Howard Classic played over the weekend. The split moves them to 3-2 on the season.
Despite strong shooting, the Tigers came up short against the Trojans of NIACC, 73-78. A strong first half would put the Tigers ahead by six points at the break. However, the Trojans would make adjustments to dominate the second half, particularly down the stretch. Sophomore Kelton Edwards paced the Tigers with 20 points. Freshman Nick Fleming and sophomore Goran Vidovic would join Edwards in double figures, scoring 14 and 10 points respectively.
The Tigers would bounce back on Saturday against Ellsworth CCC with a decisive 72-55 victory. Turnovers were the story in this match up with the Tigers only committing eight, while forcing the Panthers to make 20. The Tigers would again demonstrate their talented shooting skills, shooting better than 35% from beyond the arc and over 40% overall. Sophomore Juan Coffi would provide the leadership spark, netting 16 points and controlling the Tiger presence on the glass coming one rebound shy of the double, double. Fleming would also score a game high 16 points, while sophomore JJ Foster would have a solid all-around game with ten points, six assists, and four boards.
The Tigers will return to action on Wednesday, November 14th as they travel to Cedar Rapids, IA to take on Kirkwood CC. The game is slated to tip at 7PM. The Eagles are currently 3-1 on the year, and are ranked 5th in Division II in the NJCAA.