Tiger 2012-2013 campaign opens at Burlington
The Marshalltown Community College men’s basketball team opens the 2012-13 campaign on Friday (Nov. 2), as the Tigers head to Burlington to square off with Iowa Central Community College for a 3 pm tip-off at the Southeastern Classic.
The Tigers will look to a lineup of new faces to replace most of last year's squad that finished the season 11-20 overall and 0-4 in the Iowa Community College Conference. MCC will turn to sophomore guard Matej Delinac (Toronto, Canada) and sophomore forward Chris Caird to lead the Tigers with their experience on the court. Delinac averaged 6.5 points per game for the Tigers last season and Caird averaged 12 points per game during the 2010-2011 season. The duo are the only two returning players on the Tiger roster that have logged considerable playing minutes.
"We have been playing really hard in practice and scrimmages," said head coach Brynjar Brynjarsson. "I'm really excited for this group of guys."
The Tigers have been putting a strong emphasis on defending and rebounding in practice. MCC's roster will need to make up for the lack of height with their depth in numbers. The Tigers will be missing the presence of Marcus Bell, who led the conference with 9.9 rebounds per game. "One of our biggest challenges will be our size for rebounding," said Brynjarsson. "We will use several guys in many different positions, requiring us to be versatile."
Friday's contest with the Tritons will prove to be an early test for the Tigers. "This will be a tough game for us to start the year out with," said Brynjarsson on the match-up with Iowa Central. "They are returning two players from last year's team that went to the National Tournament. Coach Pilcher always has his teams ready and well coached."
Friday's contest will be the first meeting with the Tritons since the 2010-2011 campaign. Iowa Central was victorious over the Tigers in both of those meetings. MCC will continue play in the Southeastern Classic facing Culver Stockton's JV on Saturday. Game time for Saturday's contest is set for 1:00 p.m.
MCC's will be home to face NIACC on Tuesday, November 6th at the Student Activities Center. Tip-off against the Trojans is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.