DODGE CITY, Kan. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team will go into the semester break with a 10-4 record after suffering a 66-65 overtime loss to Dodge City Community College Saturday afternoon, Dec. 15, in Dodge City, Kan.
“I felt like we did a good job of competing,” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker said. “It was a fight to the end. It just came down to our mistakes and trying to do too much.”
The Grizzlies committed 23 turnovers in the game, which gave the Conquistadors plenty of opportunities to score.
“We had our chances to win,” the coach said. “There are at least two points somewhere in our 23 turnovers. In addition, they scored 22 points off of our turnovers. We had a stretch where we didn’t get very good shots, and they were taking it to us and getting to the foul line. We weren’t as patient as we needed to be on the other end of the floor.”
Overall, the Grizzlies hit 22 of 56 shots from the floor for 39.3 percent, three of 19 3-point attempts for 15.8 percent and 18 of 24 free throws for 75 percent. In addition to the 23 turnovers, the Grizzlies recorded 50 rebounds, including 14 off the offensive glass, six assists, 10 blocks and three steals.
Leading scorer was freshman guard Arroyo Edwards with 16 points, followed by sophomore forward Keaton Jackson with 14, freshman guard Desmond Buerge with 12 and freshman forward Malik London with 11.
London recorded a double-double with the addition of 13 rebounds to his stat sheet. He also had five blocks, as did Jackson. Edwards dished out three assists, and Buerge added five rebounds to the Grizzlies’ total.
The Conquistadors hit 21 of 65 attempts from the field for 32.3 percent, seven of 21 3-pointers for 33.3 percent and 17 of 29 shots from the charity stripe for 58.6 percent. They also had 38 rebounds, including 15 offensive, 12 assists, 13 turnovers, two blocks and 10 steals.
Victor Adams led Dodge City in scoring with 25 points, followed by Keith Crockett with 16 and Greg Travis 10. Adams also had four rebounds and three assists. Crockett added five rebounds, and Travis had five assists.
After a break for the holidays, the Grizzlies will return to the hardwood Jan. 1 and 2 in the Sonic Shoot-Out hosted by Neosho County Community College in Chanute, Kan. They will play Barton County College, Great Bend, Kan., at 6 p.m. Jan. 1 and the host team at 4 p.m. Jan. 2.
Their first home games of the new year will be Jan. 4 and 5 in their own Grizzly New Year’s Classic. Also competing in the event will be Iowa Western Community College of Council Bluffs, Southern University-Shreveport and Christian Life Academy, Humble, Texas. Games will be at 5 and 7 p.m. each day, with the Grizzlies competing in the 7 p.m. contests.
For more information about the Grizzly Basketball program, visit the team’s website at http://wp.missouristate.edu/grizzly/bb.htm or call the Grizzly Basketball office at 417-255-7993.