Second-half surge drives MCC past Spartans
MARSHALLTOWN — Southwestern men hung with undefeated Marshalltown Community College for more than a half Wednesday, but eventually the Tigers burst to a 20-point lead on the way to a 66-45 victory.
Marshalltown (6-0) held an eight-point halftime lead, plagued by turnovers and a patient Spartan offense.
After Marshalltown burst to an 11-2 lead early in the contest, the Spartans clawed back and grabbed a 15-13 lead after back-to-back 3-pointers by Marcus Littleton.
Marshalltown’s 8-2 run at the end of the half made it a 35-27 game at the break.
Southwestern (2-3) continued to stay close during the early stages of the second half, scoring eight of the first nine points of the period to close within one.
The Tigers responded with a 14-2 run that essentially put the game away. Freshman Jamal Gatali’s two-handed slam brought the crowd to its feet and sparked the hosts’ momentum.
“It got physical, and some of the turnovers were their runouts, and you can’t guard those,” SWCC coach Mike Holmes said. “A couple of those came together, when we were down three.”
Earlier, his team was performing in the manner necessary for a smaller Division II team to compete with the speed and talent of Marshalltown’s Division I squad.
“We guarded, did a pretty nice job forcing them into 16 turnovers, and rebounded pretty well,” Holmes said. “We stayed where we needed to stay until more than half of the second half. They’re good.”
“Give SWCC credit,” Marshalltown coach Brynjar Brynjarsson said. “They played us tough. We were able to defend really well tonight and that was the difference in the end.”
The Tigers were 8-of-19 from behind the 3-point line.
Southwestern, now idle until a return trip to North Central Missouri at Trenton on Tuesday, was led by Marquealis Edwards with 15 points, four rebounds and three steals. No other Spartan scored in double digits as Southwestern shot just 32 percent from the field.
MARSHALLTOWN (66) — Chris Caird 15, Jamal Gatall 13, Matej Dellnac 11, Troidell Carter 8, Lamont Adair 7, Stephon Edwards 4, Jamyles Coleman 4, Rehiem Holloway 3, Marlon Williams 1. Totals — 24 10-22 66. FG shooting — 24-53 (45.3 percent). 3-point goals — 8-19 (Delinac 3, Caird 2, Gatali 1, Holloway 1, Adair 1). Rebounds — 42 (Caird 9). Assists — 12 (Caird 3, Holloway 3, Robinson 3). Steals — 6 (Coleman 2). Blocked shots — 2 (Gatali 2). Turnovers — 16. Team fouls — 18. Fouled out — None.
SOUTHWESTERN (45) — Marquealis Edwards 15, Devin Kastrup 7, Marcus Littleton 6, Jared Theis 5, Jack Harrison 4, Delby Halcomb 4, Patrick Wright 4. Totals — 18 4-9 45. FG shooting — 18-55 (32.7 percent). 3-point goals — 5-16 (Edwards 2, Littleton 2, Theis 1). Rebounds — 25 (Theis 4, Edwards 4, Wright 4, Kastrup 4, Harrison 4). Assists — 9 (Edwards 2, Wright 2, Kastrup 2, Harrison 2). Steals — 7 (Edwards 3, Wright 2). Blocked shots — 2 (Littleton 1, Harrison 1). Turnovers — 14. Team fouls — 17. Fouled out — None.
Marshalltown — 35 66
SWCC — 27 45
