Norfolk, NE—Jamal Gatali's put back with under four seconds remaining in double-overtime propelled the Marshalltown Community College men's basketball team to a 101-100 victory over Northeast Community College at the Cox Activities Center on Saturday night. The Tigers pick up their first Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) victory of the year and improve to 10-9 overall.
The Tigers held leads late in both regulation and the end of the first overtime, but the Hawks hit last-second three-point shots in each session to force extra time. With the score tied at 93 entering the second overtime period, Mike Rodriguez (Boston, MA/Redemption Christian Academy) scored four straight points for MCC but the Hawks still held a 99-97 advantage.
On the ensuing possession, John Johnson (Philadelphia, PA/Horace Furness), who provided a career-night for the Tigers, stole the inbound pass at midcourt and was fouled. Johnson went to the line and sank both shots to tie the game at 99 with 35 seconds remaining. The Hawks were then fouled, but hit just one of two from the line to give the Tigers the chance for the win. Rodriguez drove the lane and his layup attempt rimmed out only to see Gatali rise above three defenders and put back the game-winner. A last-second runner from the Hawks fell short.
Gatali scored 16 points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds while also blocking three shots and grabbing five steals. Johnson finished the night with career-bests with 12 points and five steals. Rodriguez recorded his first-career double-double with a game-high 25 points and a career-high 11 assists.
Troidell Carter (Lilburn, GA/Meadowcreek) scored in double-figures for the fifth straight game with 18 points. Guilherme Verardo (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Clube Pinheiros) reached a new career-high with 16 points off of four three-point shots.
The Tigers forced a season-high 30 turnovers on the night, including 17 in the second-half and both overtime periods. After hitting seven of their first 10 three-point shots, the Tigers limited NECC to just 4-12 from beyond the arc.
NECC held a comfortable lead over the Tigers throughout a majority of the first half, but with the Hawks leading 35-29, MCC went on an 8-0 run, sparked by the play of Johnson off the bench. The freshman hit a three, converted a three-point play and hit a free throw to give the Tigers a 37-35 advantage. Verardo hit a three to extend the lead as the Tigers went into halftime with a 43-41 lead.
The MCC offense was slow to get going in the second half but continued to hold on to its lead. The Hawks eventually took a 60-58 edge but the Tigers put together a quick 7-0 run, capped by another three from Verardo at the 9:15 mark. The Tigers held on to the lead until the 1:35 mark when NECC took a 77-76 advantage. The Tigers stayed on top thanks to strong free throw shooting from Merdic Green (Levittown, PA/Harry S. Truman) who knocked down four straight to put MCC up 83-80. A three-point shot with under a second to play from NECC sent the game into overtime.
The Hawks jumped out to the first lead of the overtime period but the Tigers tied the game up at 89 on a fast break layup from Green. Gatali hit a pair of free throws with under 20 seconds to go to put MCC up by three again. The Hawks provided the dramatics one more time with a long-range three to tie the game and force a second overtime.
MCC countered the Hawks poor shooting performance in the second overtime by knocking down four straight on a pair from both Rodriguez and Johnson. Gatali's put-back proved to be the game-winner as the Tigers improved to 1-2 in ICCAC play.
The Tigers sank 29 of 41 shots from the free throw line while the Hawks hit just 19-40 on the night.
The Tigers return home for four straight games at the Student Activity Center beginning on Monday night against Wartburg JV at 7:00 PM.
