Marshalltown, IA—Sophomore Guilherme Verardo (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Esporte Clube Pinheiros) had the hot hand from the get go for the Marshalltown Community College Men's Basketball team on Thursday night, connecting on his first six three-point shots of the night en route to a career-high 27 points in a 78-68 victory over Western Iowa Tech.
Verardo finished the night 9-13 from three-point range to go along with six rebounds. The sophomore hit five three's in the first 4:47 of the first half. Verardo finished the opening frame with back-to-back long-range shots to give the Tigers a 32-25 lead at halftime.
Vincent Lasley (Tama, IA/South Tama) added 19 points for the Tigers, one off of his career-high, along with six rebounds. Souf Mensah (Nantes, France/CCI) scored all 17 of his points in the second half.
Verardo's barrage of three-pointers gave the Tigers a 17-8 advantage in the opening minutes of the first half. The Comets brought the game to an even 19 at the 10:01 mark, but Lasley scored a layup and stole the ensuing inbounds pass and put home another bucket. Verardo closed out the half with the final nine points for the Tigers.
MCC opened the second half on an 8-0 run to go up by 14. Wester Iowa Tech came as close as nine, but MCC managed to keep a double-digit lead for most of the second half to snap a two-game losing streak.
The Tigers return to Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) play with a home game against No. 5 Indian Hills Community College at 7:00 PM on Saturday night. Saturday's contest is part of House of Compassion Night. For more information visit: House of Compassion Night.
