Marshalltown, IA— The Marshalltown Community College men's basketball team outlasted Southwestern Community College on Wednesday night, taking a cross-divisional victory over the Spartans 95-85 at the Student Activity Center. Mike Rodriguez (Boston, MA/Redemption Christian Academy) scored a team-high 25 points to lead MCC.
Leading 83-82 with 4:09 to play, the Tigers limited the Spartans to just one field goal the rest of the way to collect their fifth straight win to improve to 11-3 on the year. Southwestern, ranked No. 9 in this week's NJCAA Division II Poll, suffered just its second loss of the year, falling to 10-2.
Rodriguez provided another all-around stellar performance for the Tigers, scoring 25 points, tallying seven assists, and grabbing seven rebounds while collecting four steals. The sophomore connected on 12 of his 17 free throw attempts, including 9-12 in the second half.
Terence Shelby Jr. (Peoria, IL/Limestone) produced another spark off the bench, scoring 21 points in 33 minutes of action. The freshman knocked down five of his eight three point attempts and shot 8-11 overall. Shelby Jr. has averaged 18 points over his last three games and has knocked down 57.1 percent (12-21) of his shots from beyond the arc.
Both sides played a nearly identical first half as the Spartans outshot MCC 44.4 percent to 42.9 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes. The Tigers' largest lead of the half was four, which came at the 13:30 mark. Southwestern took back the lead, 29-27 with just over five minutes to go, but MCC hit five straight points to go back on top. A back-and-forth battle the rest of the way took both teams into the locker room in a 37-37 tie.
Rodriguez scored four straight points to open the final frame, but the Spartans continued to hang around. MCC gained momentum after a one-point lead turned into four after two technical fouls were assessed to the Spartans. MCC maintained its lead for most of the second half, but only to a minimal advantage. Leading 87-83 with 1:39 to play, Shelby Jr. drilled a corner three that put the game out of reach and propelled the Tigers to victory.
MCC outrebounded the Spartans 43-23 on the night thanks to seven rebounds each from Christal Malalu ('s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands / Koning Willem 1) and Vincent Lasley (Tama, IA/South Tama), both off the bench. Malalu and Amir Maddred (Camden, NJ/Camden) both swatted two shots in the winning effort. Merdic Green (Levittown, PA/Harry S. Truman) finished the night with 12 points and six rebounds while Maddred added 10 points.
The Tigers head to Freeport, IL to take on St John's Academy on Friday as part of the Highland CC Tournament. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM
