Second-half defensive commitment and a big game for MCC freshman Tre’von Coney lifted the Tigers to an 85-77 win over Simpson College JV at the MCC Student Activity Center in Marshalltown.

Coney, a Bettendorf grad, led all scorers with 29 points. It’s his second game with 20 or more points after scoring 20 in a 79-74 loss to NIACC on Saturday.

“My teammates were getting it to me and when I was open, I was hitting shots in transition,” Coney said. “We all just find each other when we’re out there.”

The Storm led by seven points at several points in the first half before a 9-0 run pushed MCC ahead 31-29 and the Tigers were up 37-35 at halftime.

T-R PHOTO BY JAKE RYDER - MCC freshman Lucas Frohwein (14) shoots over Simpson’s Brady Connor during the first half of Monday’s basketball game at the Student Activity Center.

Nonetheless, the hosts felt there was work to be done.

“I’m never concerned about if we can score, it’s just, do we get enough stops, and do it consistently,” MCC head coach Ryan Fleck said. “We always talk about trying to get three stops in a row, and calling that a ‘kill,’ and we want seven kills a game because when we get to that number, usually good things happen.”

Another 9-0 run early in the second half pushed the Tigers ahead by 10.

“I said ‘we’re not gonna win trading baskets with them,'” Coney said. “We had to get some stops together, and then we got in transition, getting assists, getting a lot of guys going that made us hard to guard.”

MCC never trailed in the second half, though Simpson did have it close down the stretch.

Hunter Hughes hit a three-pointer with 1:35 left to get the Storm within 79-74 and an MCC turnover 10 seconds later gave Simpson a chance to get within one possession, but a three-pointer was off the mark and Antwan Bridgett hit a pair of free-throws to push the Tiger lead back to seven points.

“Bridgett came in and played really hard,” Fleck said. “He didn’t probably score or stand out as much from an offensive standpoint but he came in and did a lot of really good things and if we can get good things going from guys like him, good things will happen to us.”

Another Storm 3-pointer was for naught as Jayden Hill responded by tracking down a deflected ball in stride for a thunderous dunk that clinched the game for the Tigers.

“We never panicked,” Coney said. “Coach trusted us to handle it, handle the press, get it up the floor, hit the free throws and take care of it.”

MCC plays three more home games in the next seven days, starting Saturday against Ellsworth.

Marshalltown CC 85, Simpson JV 77

SIMPSON JV — Preston Daedlow 6 3-4 17, Ben Gilbert-Binder 0 0-0 0, Nolan McDonald 4 0-2 10, Hunter Hughes 7 3-4 21, Jacob Stewart 5 2-2 13, Blane Wallace 0 0-0 0, Drew Fleming 0 0-0 0, Brady Connor 2 0-0 5, Logan Kowalski 4 3-4 11. TOTALS 28 11-16 77.

MCC (11-15) — Antoine Glasper 1 0-0 2, Antwan Bridgett 3 5-5 11, Jayden Hill 2 7-9 11, Tre’von Coney 11 4-10 29, Justice Small 5 4-6 14, Ahmed Ibrahim 2 1-2 5, DJ Hamilton 4 1-2 9, John Harrington 0 0-0 0, Lucas Frohwein 1 2-2 4, Jion Fukushima 0 0-1 0. TOTALS 29 24-37 85.

Halftime–MCC 37-35. 3-Point Goals–Simpson 10 (Hughes 4, Daedlow 2, McDonald 2, Connor, Stewart), MCC 3 (Coney 3). Total Fouls–Simpson 23, MCC 13. Fouled Out–Daedlow.