MCC used an 11-0 run spanning nearly six minutes in the third quarter to take the lead for good in an eventual 59-44 win over Iowa Central on Wednesday night inside the Student Activity Center, rolling into the semester break on a four-game winning streak.

The Tigers are 11-3 heading into the holiday hiatus, amassing as many wins as the last three seasons combined.

“To be honest we’ve really focused on one game at a time, and today is really the first day that I’ve been able to be big picture,” said MCC head coach Dylan Longley. “So it’s not even about the last four games, it’s about the last 14. We’ve had a heck of a year so far.

“We got picked to finish second-to-last in the conference, so it feels really good. The last 24 hours, we’ve all wanted to go back to our families and when they ask us how the season’s going, we can say we’re having a heck of a year and we’re able to do that now so that’s really exciting.”

Marshalltown (11-3, 3-1) stands tied for third in the latest Iowa Community College Athletic Conference standings after Wednesday’s results. After shooting just 25 percent from the field in the first half, the Tigers had to dig themselves out of that early rut despite still leading at the intermission, 24-22.

Iowa Central (5-7, 0-3) used a 12-2 spurt spanning the end of the first half and the start of the second to take a 27-24 advantage, but MCC countered with the decisive run after Longley was ticketed with a technical foul.

The Tigers scored the next 11 points, holding the Tritons scoreless for 5 minutes, 9 seconds, on their way to a 35-27 lead. Destiny Sao-Martinez scored six points consecutively during the surge and Iowa Central never got closer than six the rest of the way.

Shenell Stewart scored six-straight to start the fourth quarter as MCC’s lead went from eight to 14 just 2:25 into the period.

Stewart and Mia Sao-Martinez finished with team-highs of 13 points, and Mia Sao-Martinez added 10 points.

“I think the first half we didn’t have energy and we didn’t have any effort and it was on the court,” Longley said. “I thought our energy on the bench was great.

“You can feel the energy and in the first half you could feel the energy getting sucked out of the building because we were missing layups.”

The Tigers turned to their full-court press in the second half to eventually turn the tide, forcing Iowa Central into 24 turnovers. MCC piled up 21 points off turnovers with Stewart and Mia Sao-Martinez tallying four steals apiece. Kimari Hall chipped in with seven points, seven assists and three steals as well.

Jalen Shaw (8) and Nunu Johnson (6) contributed to the scoring off the bench and MCC made its way into the break by seizing control of this game in the second half. The Tigers outscored Iowa Central 35-22 after halftime.

“Everybody’s going to really enjoy being home,” Longley said. “We don’t talk about last year, but we’d be fools to tell you it’s not on some of our’s minds. With that we are a very motivated group and we have some sophomores that are very motivated.”

Ashton Jacobsen scored a game-high 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting for the Tritons, who sustained their third loss in a row. Nobody else contributed more than six points for Iowa Central.

MCC resumes play on Jan. 4, 2025, at Ellsworth.

“January’s gonna be the toughest month that we’ve played this year,” Longley added. “We’ve got some really good teams and I don’t expect us to go undefeated, but I do expect us to get better.”

Marshalltown CC 59, Iowa Central 44

IOWA CENTRAL (5-7, 0-3) — Terrell 2-9 0-0 4, Jacobsen 7-14 2-4 20, Bogdonovich 2-10 0-0 4, Maehl 2-3 0-0 4, Stuckmeyer 0-5 0-0 0, Clemente 1-5 3-4 6, Greek 0-2 1-2 3, Baptiste 2-7 0-0 5. TOTALS 16-55 6-10 44.

MCC (11-3, 3-1) — M. Sao-Martinez 4-10 2-2 13, Hall 2-7 2-3 7, Cherry 0-1 0-1 0, Gradwell 0-1 0-0 0, Stewart 5-19 3-4 13, Shaw 3-7 1-3 8, Allen 1-2 0-0 2, D. Sao-Martinez 4-6 2-4 10, Johnson 2-6 2-2 6, Damiao 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS 21-59 12-19 59.

IOWA CENTRAL 7 15 11 11 — 44

MCC 13 11 17 18 — 59

3-Point Goals–Iowa Central 6-19 (Jacobsen 4-10, Clemente 1-2, Baptiste 1-2, Terrell, Green 0-1, Terrell 0-2, Bogdonovich 0-2), MCC 5-20 (M. Sao-Martinez 3-7, Hall 1-3, Shaw 1-3, Allen 0-1, D. Sao-Martinez 0-2, Stewart 0-2). Rebounds–Iowa Central 42 (Terrell 5), MCC 40 (D. Sao-Martinez 7). Assists–Iowa Central 12 (Maehl 7), MCC 59. Total Fouls–Iowa Central 16, MCC 12. Fouled Out–none. Technical Foul–MCC bench.