Marshalltown, IA—The Marshalltown Community College Men's Basketball team went off for a season-high 114 points, leading the Tigers to a 114-87 victory over Little Priest Tribal College on the final day of the Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel Classic at the Student Activity Center on Saturday night. Five players reached double-figures for MCC.
Vincent Lasley (Tama, IA/South Tama) continued to excel to start the regular season as the sophomore scored 20 points to go along with eight rebounds, both team-highs on the night. Lasley is averaging 10.5 points and eight rebounds per contest this season.
Joining Lasley in double-figures were Amir Maddred (Camden, IA/Camden) with 16, Nick Cross (Beverly, MA/Beverly) with 15, Guilherme Verardo (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Esporte Clube Pinheiros) with 14, and Souf Mensah (Nantes, France/CCI) with 10.
The Tigers (5-1) shot a season-high 59.7 percent from the floor thanks to a strong-shooting second half that saw the Tigers go 25-36 in the final 20 minutes. MCC used a season-high 12 three-point shots to reach its highest point total since 2010.
Saturday night started much the same way as Thursday night's opener of the Meskwaki Classic as Verardo drained a corner three-point shot to put MCC on the board. Maddred scored a layup at the 11:11 mark and Verardo drained his second three-pointer just over a minute later to extend MCC's lead to 29-16. Christal Malalu (Eindhoven, Netherlands/Willem Koning I) hit a free throw with just over a minute remaining in the half to give the Tigers their largest lead of the frame at 50-33. Verardo finished the half with four shots from beyond the three-point line.
MCC upped its scoring effort in the second half as Cross drained a three-pointer four minutes into the final stanza to put the Tigers ahead by 26. MCC's largest lead of the night came at the 9:15 mark as Lasley hit a layup to put the home team ahead 89-57. Paulius Sakinis (Klaipeda, Lithuania/Lourdes Central Catholic) received a pass from Reggie Gradwell (Marshalltown, IA/West Marshall) underneath the basket to eclipse the century mark with just under five minutes to go. Cross hit his fifth three of the game and Kali Arrington (Davenport, IA/Davenport) scored in the closing seconds to round out the scoring for MCC.
Verardo and Cross rank 1-2 in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) three-point category with 22 and 16 respectively. Verardo's total is tied for fifth-best in the nation.
All 13 players scored for the Tigers on Saturday, the second time the team has reached that figure. Mensah distributed four assists to go along with seven rebounds while Sakinis added seven rebounds to compliment six points. Gradwell came off of the bench to finish with eight points. The Tigers assisted on 28 of 40 total field goals as Tyler Miller (Louisville, KY/22ft Academy) added four helpers.
MCC hits the road for the first time this season on Nov. 19 as the Tigers make the trip to Quakerdale Prep Academy for a 7:00 PM tip.
