Iowa Western makes pivotal push past MCC
Four minutes can easily decide a 20-minute game. Such was the case for the Marshalltown Community College men’s basketball team as it went from up 53-45 to down 60-53 to Iowa Western Community College and eventually lost 79-69 on Saturday night.
Jamir Coleman came off the bench to score 19 points to lead the Tigers (13-7, 1-1 ICCAC). Coleman hit the first 3-pointer of the game by either team, cashing in two to give the Tigers their first lead since 13-11. But Donovan Walker drained the Reivers’ first 3 to spark a 15-0 run and regain the lead at 60-53.
MCC head coach Brynjar Brynjarsson said the 24-19 turnover ratio, one the Tigers lost, was the biggest difference in his team’s loss Saturday night.
“We did a poor job of taking care of the ball,” Brynjarsson said. “Way too many turnovers, especially just giving the ball away after we made a good play. Once we had the lead there, we shot the ball, didn’t have our transition defense right, they’d get a layup. We just weren’t set.”
The Reivers managed to capitalize on the Tigers’ 24 turnovers by turning them into 30 points. Part of the Reivers’ pivotal 15-0 run was made off of consecutive MCC give aways, time and time again.
The Tigers were able to get 12 points off the Reivers’ 19 turnovers, but it seemed every time an MCC player was able to pick the pocket of a Reiver, the ball would fall away unfavorably. The second half started this very way, when Juan Coffi seemingly stole the ball, back-to-back times, only to have the ball fall out of bounds off his fingertips.
It was that kind of night on the defensive edge for the Tigers.
Mohamed Thiam tallied 12 points and dished out four assists, while Brandon Simmons did work inside and posted nine points and a team-best four steals.
Four the fourth-straight game, Floyd Preito posted 10 points and acted as lead facilitator during the final minutes of the game, helping in any way he could to lead a comeback.
“[Preito]’s just slowed down a little bit and he’s helped the team do a nice job defensively,” Brynjarsson said. “He’s really made progress in how hard he’s playing and staying in front of the ball. He’s done a really nice job for us.”
In the waning minutes, down 10 points, the Tigers were forced to foul. The Reivers made 28-for-36 free throws, and Brynjarsson said that was essentially the final dagger for the Tigers.
MCC was 18-for-25 from the line and made 3-of-8 3-pointer.
Iowa Western CC’s De’Quon Lake, a 6-foot-10 sophomore from Virginia, helped corral 15 rebounds Saturday, but the Tigers were still better on the boards, getting the edge at 35-31.
“In these games, it’s the teams that makes the plays,” Brynjarsson said. “We didn’t make the paly and they did. Whether they’re 6-5, 6-10, 6-11, yeah, obviously, [Lake] had a hell of a game. Take our hat off to him. But at the same time, I like what we did. We took the ball to him.”
Lake finished with 20 points, a team-best for the Reivers. Alex Peacock chipped in 16, Walker had 15 and Pat Dembley rounded out the double-digit scorers for Iowa Western CC.
The schedule won’t slow down when 24th-ranked Indian Hills Community College comes to town on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
Iowa Western CC 79,
IOWA WESTERN (17-3, 2-0) — Walker 3-7 8-8 15, Lake 9-12 0-0 20, Dembley 2-6 6-9 10, Jefferson 3-10 2-2 8, Peacock 6-8 4-4 16, Ward 1-4 2-4 4, Harris 0-1 0-0 0, Beasley 1-5 4-6 6, Barry 0-0 0-0 0-0. TOTALS 25-53 28-36 79.
MCC (13-7, 1-1) — Thiam 4-6 4-5 12, Millard 2-5 0-0 5, Preito 2-5 0-0 10, Coffi 1-1 6-8 8, Simmons 4-12 1-3 9, Mensah 1-6 0-1 2, Coleman 6-13 5-6 19, Hauser 0-0 0-0 0, Reggie Gradwell 1-2 2-2 4. TOTALS 24-53 18-25 69.
Halftime–IWCC 29-27. 3-Point Goals–IWCC 1-6 (Walker 1-2, Peacokc 0-1, Jefferson 0-3), MCC 3-8 (Coleman 2-4, Millard 1-1, Gardwell 0-1, Preito 6-8). Rebounds–IWCC 31 (Lake 15), MCC 35 (Simmons 8) Assists–IWCC 12 (Walker 3), MCC 8 (Coffi 3). Total Fouls–IWCC 24, MCC 23. Fouled Out–Thiam. A–325.