Tigers upend No. 11 Bryant & Stratton
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltown Community College sophomore guard Tristan Christopher attempts a shot in the lane during the first half of Thursday’s game against Bryant & Stratton in the Emerson Basketball Classic.
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltown Community College sophomore Joseph Hudson scoops in a layup over Bryant & Stratton College defender Esron Simeon (0) during the first half of Thursday’s opening game of the Emerson Basketball Classic at the Student Activituy Center. The Tigers toppled the No. 11-ranked Bobcats 80-61.
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE MCC sophomore Hassan Bush (11) shoots a jumper over Bryant & Stratton defender Keshaun Harlan (12) during the first half of Thursday’s game at the Student Activity Center.
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE MCC sophomore Tom Guma makes one of his six 3-pointers during Thursday’s victory over Bryant & Stratton. Guma scored a career-high 22 points in the Tigers’ 80-61 triumph over the 11th-ranked Bobcats.
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltown Community College sophomore guard Tristan Christopher attempts a shot in the lane during the first half of Thursday’s game against Bryant & Stratton in the Emerson Basketball Classic.
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE Marshalltown Community College sophomore Joseph Hudson scoops in a layup over Bryant & Stratton College defender Esron Simeon (0) during the first half of Thursday’s opening game of the Emerson Basketball Classic at the Student Activituy Center. The Tigers toppled the No. 11-ranked Bobcats 80-61.
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE MCC sophomore Hassan Bush (11) shoots a jumper over Bryant & Stratton defender Keshaun Harlan (12) during the first half of Thursday’s game at the Student Activity Center.
T-R PHOTO BY ROSS THEDE MCC sophomore Tom Guma makes one of his six 3-pointers during Thursday’s victory over Bryant & Stratton. Guma scored a career-high 22 points in the Tigers’ 80-61 triumph over the 11th-ranked Bobcats.
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It wasn't an accident and it wasn't a fluke. The stars didn't have to align just right.
The Marshalltown Community College men's basketball team beat a ranked team, and beat it handily.
The Tigers took down NJCAA Division II No. 11 Bryant & Stratton College in a convincing 80-61 win on Thursday night to tip off the Emerson Basketball Classic in style, storming past the Bobcats in impressive fashion inside the Student Activity Center.
MCC sophomore guard Tom Guma shot the lights out, scoring a career-high 23 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field that included a 6-of-7 performance from 3-point range. He was 2-of-2 at the free-throw line, had a team-high seven rebounds and guarded Bryant & Stratton's best offensive weapon.
By the end of the game, he was just one of the Tigers' many top performers in an upset victory over a previously unbeaten team.
"It's a really good feeling right now because we're hosting this tournament and we started with a win," said Guma. "We're just trying to keep it going."
Bryant & Stratton's frenetic zone defense did its part to make it hard on the Tigers in the early stages, as the Bobcats (4-1) jumped out to a 9-5 lead. MCC made 11 of its 21 turnovers in the first half, but the Tigers also started finding their way over, around and through the aggressive zone defense.
Bryant & Stratton led 13-10 after a driving layup by Taurus Baugh, but MCC (4-1) scored the next 10 points to take the lead for good. A 15-2 run overall was started when Guma knocked down a 3-pointer, and Marshalltown native Kyle Smith did the same to give the Tigers the lead for good at 16-13. A four-point run by freshman Ryan Clair capped the 10-point push, and another Guma triple propelled the Tigers to a 15-2 wave and a 25-15 lead.
"They've had our number the last few years, but we knew we were going to have to be ready to play against their zone tonight," said MCC head coach Ryan Flack. "I thought we had a good couple of days (of practice) this week, just getting our mind right and knowing this isn't going to be the first team we're going to see a lot of zone from."
The Tigers pulled out to a lead of as many as 16 points, 34-18, by taking advantage of all three of Bryant & Stratton's defensive offerings. The Bobcats eventually settled into a man-to-man defense in the second half, but the margin was still at 16 with 13 minutes left to play.
MCC led by no fewer than 10 points in the entire second half.
"Coach always says that we start with defense," Guma said. "We get a stop or when we get the board, we can push it up and we've got a lot of shooters and big guys who can stretch the floor. That's very nice for us, and we've been shooting well, so that's good."
MCC shot 57.1 percent from the field, a season-low 44.4 percent from 3-point range, and was 16-of-21 (76.2 percent) at the free-throw line. Five players scored in double figures and nine players scored in all for the Tigers.
Clair finished with a career-high 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots off the bench. Tristan Christopher and Hassan Bush had 11 points apiece, and Joseph Hudson finished with 10 points and five boards.
"We need to keep playing to our standard," said Flack, "regardless what the score is."
Bryant & Stratton was led by Keshaun Harlan's season-high 21 points off the bench, while Tayshaun Wallace had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Bobcats.
"They've had our number the last three years and they're really well coached," Flack said. "The boxscore looks great outside of that one column -- turnovers. The negative is we don't have really a true point guard, but we have a couple of guys that are definitely capable of it."
MCC returns to action on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in the final game of the Emerson Classic, taking on Lane College from Eugene, Ore.