Monday was the first step, dominating in an 87-69 win over Cornell College’s junior varsity squad in the Tigers’ final home game of the year.

Rob Keys led the Tigers with 21 points and Mekki Sisk and Joe Scott finished with 13 and 11 points, respectively. MCC improves to 3-10 and ends the 2023 schedule at Mason City against NIACC on Wednesday.

“We wanted to come out and do what we needed to do to get it done tonight, no matter who our opponent was,” MCC head coach Ryan Flack said.

The Tigers just missed the mark last Wednesday against NJCAA DII’s seventh-ranked Ellsworth, falling short in a 90-89 overtime defeat in Marshalltown.

T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER - MCC guard Mekki Sisk, left, drives for a layup against Cornell College’s Jaxxon Handy during the first half of Monday’s basketball game in Marshalltown.

But it lit a fire under MCC that burned through the Rams on Monday.

“That game being so close, we just use it as drive to keep it going, as a sign that we can be as good as everybody else,” Keys said.

Trailing 16-11 in the first half, MCC uncorked a 17-2 run that included three-pointers from Keys, Sisk and Angus Ole.

The Tigers drained eight of their nine total 3-pointers on Monday in the first half and were up 51-31 at the horn.

“We spaced the floor well in the first half,” Flack said. “I felt like we had so much energy and a couple good practices last week after the Ellsworth game that we just really tried to attack them and play inside-out like we normally try to do.”

The Rams could only get as close as 61-47 in the second half before another 15-2 spurt put the Tigers way out ahead.

Tyler Burrows added 10 points for the Tigers and Joey Tollefson led the contributors coming off the bench with six points on a pair of 3-pointers.

Flack wants to make sure the men can find a way to juggle the 2023 finale with NIACC.

“It’s finals week for our guys, so they have a lot going that way,” Flack said. “It’ll be a tough task playing at their house.”

Keys added: “We gotta stay locked in, no matter how close the break is. Just keep encouraging each other, because one of us alone can’t do this, it takes all of us locked in and we should be good to go on Wednesday.”

Marshalltown CC 87, Cornell College JV 69

CORNELL JV — Tanner Ingle 3 1-1 8, Ryan Allen 4 0-0 10, Jacob King 5 0-0 11, Jaxxon Handy 6 0-0 15, Daniel Quirk 2 0-0 4, Kaid Smith-Fitzgerald 4 2-2 13, Braxtyn Beard 4 0-2 8, Wallace Schmotzer 0 0-1 0, Noah Williams 0 0-2 0. TOTALS 28 3-8 69.

MARSHALLTOWN CC — Mekki Sisk 5 0-0 13, Tyler Burrows 4 2-2 10, Rob Keys 9 1-5 21, Joe Scott 4 3-4 11, Angus Ole 5 3-6 14, Michael Barell 1 0-0 3, DJ Hamilton 0 2-2 2, Joey Tollefson 2 0-0 6, Isaac Turay 2 0-0 4, Julio Feria 0 2-2 2, Jion Fukushima 0 1-2 1. TOTALS 32 14-23 87.

3-Point Goals — Cornell 10 (Handy 3, Smith-Fitzgerald 3, Allen 2, King, Ingle); MCC 9 (Sisk 3, Tollefson 2, Keys 2, Barell, Ole). Total fouls — Cornell JV 16, MCC 15. Fouled out — Beard.