Burlington, IA—Terence Shelby Jr. (Peoria, IL/Limestone) drained a three-point shot with 47.3 seconds to play to give the Marshalltown Community College men's basketball team their first lead of the night and the Tigers held on for a 75-72 upset victory over fourth-seeded Southeastern Community College in the opening round of the Region XI Tournament. The Tigers rallied from 22 points down to steal the victory.
With the win, the Tigers (19-12) advance to take on top-seeded Indian Hills Community College (26-4) at 7:00 PM on Wednesday night at the Hellyer Center in Ottumwa, IA.
The victory over the Blackhawks snaps a six-game losing streak to Southeastern, including two regular season losses this year. Southeastern defeated the Tigers 86-80 in 2012 in the team's only other postseason meeting.
The fifth-seeded Tigers were led by Merdic Green's (Levittown, PA/Harry S. Truman) colossal performance as the sophomore produced a double-double, scoring 23 points and grabbing a career-high 14 rebounds in the win. Green also blocked two shots and collected two steals.
Mike Rodriguez (Boston, MA/Redemption Christian Academy) scored 20 points to go along with eight assists while Shelby Jr. knocked down three three-point shots to finish with 11 points. Amir Maddred (Camden, NJ/Camden) scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds.
Southeastern proved why they were the higher seed to start the game as the Tigers committed miscue after miscue and found themselves in early foul trouble, allowing the Blackhawks to jump out to a 31-9 lead midway through the first half. MCC was able to show some life in the final minutes but Southeastern shot 57 percent from the floor in the first half and controlled a 44-28 lead at the break.
The Tigers refused to see their season end in the first round and were able to string together a 9-0 run to claw within six, 59-53 with 10 minutes remaining. Rodriguez did a majority of his damage late in the second half, penetrating the lane to find easy lay-ins. The Tiger front court, led by Green, were there to collect any missed shot from Rodriguez and provide second-chance opportunities.
MCC brought the game to within four on two separate occasions, and came within two as Green sank two free throws with just over a minute remaining. On the Tigers next trip down, Rodriguez found Shelby Jr. in the corner to bury the three for a 73-72 lead. A last-second three from the Blackhawks was no good as MCC advanced to the next round.
The Tigers defeated Northeast Community College in the opening round of the Region XI Tournament last season before falling to Indian Hills 133-80.
Live coverage of Wednesday's game will be provided by the Warriors.
