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The Marshalltown Community College men's basketball team had less than a day to devise a gameplan and put it in motion for the finale of the Comfort Inn Classic.

No time, no problem.

The Tigers broke open a less-than-comfortable 13-point halftime lead with an inspired start to the second half, finishing off Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa 75-48 on Saturday night at the Student Activity Center.

The win helped MCC (6-2) join NJCAA Division II No. 2 DMACC at 2-0 for the tournament after both teams defeated Northern Oklahoma and County Upper Academy in Marshalltown's first of two tournaments in a span of two weeks.

The Tigers romped past County Upper by 54 points on Friday night, while Saturday's winning margin was half as much. It might have been twice as gratifying, however, for MCC head coach Brynjar Brynjarsson.

"Overall our scoring was very even, we were sharing the ball, it was a team effort, just like we talked about," he said. "We had good focus, we prepped very well today for a team that in my opinion is going to win some games.

"We had a nice gameplan and we stuck with it."

Marshalltown made certain to try and slow Northern Oklahoma point guard Kearston Marion and forward Ross Morrisett, who stood out during the Mavericks' five-point loss to DMACC on Friday afternoon.

"They were really patient with the ball," Brynjarsson said of Northern's offense. "I was a little worried about guarding them for the full 30 seconds."

The Mavericks' patience failed to pay off as they finished the game shooting 1-for-17 from 3-point range and trailed 37-24 at the halftime break.

Sparked by sophomore scoring leaders Will Clyburn and DeMarcus Phillips, Marshalltown made off with a game-changing run to start the second half.

Clyburn scored MCC's first six points out of the locker room, including a breakaway lob dunk assisted by Phillips, to make it a 16-point margin.

Moments later, Phillips was making a run of his own. He followed up his only 3-pointer with an offensive putback, a tip-in and a ridiculous reverse layup to stake the Tigers to a 54-30 advantage.

"We came out in the second half and didn't give them a glimpse (of hope)," Brynjarsson said.

After Brandon Cutler scored his only field goal of the second half for the Mavericks, Marshalltown rattled off a 13-0 run over the next 5 minutes for a 35-point advantage.

Clyburn also shared the team lead with nine rebounds, wrapping up what Brynjarsson called "an excellent game all the way around."

Phillips finished with a game-high 17 points to lead the Tigers in scoring for the third time in the last four games. Clyburn added 15 points while five other MCC players scored at least six points.

"We shot the ball very well and we were efficient with the offense when we ran the ball," said Brynjarsson.

Mike Willis contributed six points and nine rebounds - five of which were offensive - before an injury sidelined him toward the end of the game. Rashard Porter scored his seven points off the bench in the first half, while Tyler Brown, Charleston Smith and Michael Appel each scored six points in reserve roles. Appel, a freshman from Marshalltown, hit back-to-back 3-pointers to provide the Tigers with a 22-9 lead at the midway point of the first half.

Jeremy Lampkin scored 12 points to lead Northern Oklahoma, Marion added 11 and Reid Whitley had 10. The Mavericks didn't break double digits on the scoreboard until 9:30 remained in the first half, scoring 24 points both before and after the break.

"The challenge for us is now that we've set a standard, let's not go backwards," Brynjarsson said.

The Tigers' next two games are on the road, starting Wednesday in Creston against Southwestern. DMACC hosts MCC next Saturday at 4 p.m. in Boone.