MOBERLY, Mo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team picked up a key road win in Region 16 action Saturday night, Feb. 2, when they defeated the Moberly Area Community College Greyhounds 62-58 in Moberly, Mo.
With the win, the Grizzlies, 16-9 overall, are now 3-2 in Region 16 play and in a three-way tie for second place with Moberly (18-6 overall) and Mineral Area College of Park Hills, Mo. (18-5 overall). At the top of the region is State Fair Community College of Sedalia, Mo., (18-6 overall) with a 4-1 record. At the bottom is Three Rivers College of Poplar Bluff, Mo. (13-11 overall) with an 0-6 record.
“This was a very good road win for our team,” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker said of Saturday’s victory. “We said before the game that a win at Moberly means that we don’t need help from anyone else in the region.
“Moberly is a tough place to play, and our guys controlled the game most of the evening,” he continued. “The pace was where we wanted it, and we held them to their lowest scoring output this season by 11 points.”
The Grizzlies held a narrow 32-28 advantage at halftime, and they maintained that differential in the second half.
“We kept having different guys step up at different times in the game, but we played well most of the evening on the defensive end. That was the most satisfying part,” Walker said.
Although complete game statistics were not available, Walker did point out that the Grizzlies were led on the scoreboard by freshman guard Arroyo Edwards with 17 points, followed by fellow freshmen guards Delvonte Pierre with 14 points and Isiah Rogers with 13 points.
The Greyhounds were led by T.J. White and Brennan Hughes, each with 10 points.
The Grizzlies will step out of Region 16 action tonight, Feb. 4, to host Central Methodist University’s junior varsity squad from Fayette, Mo., at 7 in the West Plains Civic Center arena.
Their next Region 16 contest will be Feb. 13 against State Fair at 7:30 p.m. in Sedalia.
“Now we just need to take it one day at a time, and then one possession at a time, to ensure that we have the focus we need to continue to get better,” the coach said. “If we do that, then we give ourselves a great chance down the stretch to have success in the region.”
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.