Freeport, IL- The Marshalltown Community College Men's Basketball team fell just short in their quest for a championship at the William H Bear Classic hosted by Highland Community College. The weekend would end in one victory and two defeats, which leaves them slightly above .500 at 9-8 heading into the holiday break.
The first game of the tournament, the Tigers would take on the host, Cougars of Highland on Friday at 7PM. The Tigers had squared off against the Cougars during the Emerson Classic, a contest that MCC would narrowly win 72-69. Highland would prove to be too much for the Tigers in their second meeting of the year, prevailing 73-66. Sophomore Kelton Edwards would lead the way for the Tigers with a double double, 18 points and 12 rebounds respectively. Sophomores Eduardo Lane, Goran Vidovic, and freshman Nick Fleming would all post double-digit scoring efforts for the Tigers.
A short turnaround would find the Tigers back on the hardwood bright and early at 9AM against the Olive Harvey Panthers. MCC would win the battle of the big cats by a score of 83-72. Fleming would lead the Tigers scoring with 19 points, followed closely by Lane with 18, and Edwards with 14. Vidovic would narrowly miss a double double with 11 points and nine rebounds. The victory propelled the Tigers into the Consolation Championship game played at 5PM.
In the Consolation Championship game, the Tigers would take on the Triton College Trojans. The game went down to the wire as the Trojans would squeak out a 93-90 victory in the Tigers second game of the day. Edwards again paced the Tigers with 27 points, while Fleming added 22. Sophomore Bassirou Ndiaye would also land in double figures with 12.
Going into the break, Edwards leads the Tigers averaging 18.4 points per game, followed by fleming with 11.7. Vidovic also is averaging double figures with 10.7. Sophomore Juan Coffi is controlling the glass on both ends, averaging 5.9 boards per game. Lane leads the way in scoring percentage at 63% while Vidovic has been stellar behind the arc at 39.1%.
The Tigers will return to the hardwood on Wednesday, January 9th as they host John Wood Community College at 7:00PM. They will look to revenge a nine-point road loss against the Blazers earlier in the season.