WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team added another mark in the win column Tuesday night, Feb. 7, when they defeated Arkansas Baptist College of Little Rock, Ark., 72-41 at the West Plains Civic Center arena.
The Grizzlies’ overall season record now stands at 19-6.
“We responded pretty well defensively for this game and once our offense got out of sputter mode, we did a good job on that end of the floor as well.” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker said. “Our big guys had a distinct advantage, and we were able to capitalize inside when we were in the correct spots.”
The Grizzlies held a 34-20 advantage at the half and outscored their opponents 37-22 in the second half. “We didn’t do a great job in the first half of playing the scouting report, and they got away from us to hit some threes,” Walker said. “We did a better job in the second half of knowing who we were guarding and taking their strengths away.”
The Grizzlies’ leading scorer for the night was sophomore Nathane Simniok with 18 points. Sophomore Gage Wooten followed with 12. Simniok also grabbed 9 rebounds for the night.
The Grizzlies will return to Region 16 action Saturday, Feb. 11, when they travel to Poplar Bluff to face the Three Rivers Community College Raiders in a 7 p.m. game at the Bess Activity Center in Poplar Bluff, Mo. . They will host State Fair Community College in another Region 16 contest at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14, at the civic center arena.
For more information about the Grizzly Basketball program, call the Grizzly Basketball office at 417-255-7993 or visit the team’s Web site at http://www.wp.missouristate.edu/Grizzly/bb.htm.