WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team opened the 2014-15 campaign with two wins Friday and Saturday, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, at the Holiday Inn Express Grizzly Tip-Off Classic in Joe Paul Evans Arena at the West Plains Civic Center.
On Friday, the Grizzlies defeated Panola College, Carthage, Texas, 71-59, then followed that win with a hard-fought 80-78 victory Saturday over Iowa Western Community College, Council Bluffs.
In other tournament games, Iowa Western defeated Arkansas Baptist College 98-81 Friday and Panola beat Arkansas Baptist 85-84 in overtime Saturday.
Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker was thrilled his team picked up two wins this weekend, especially the victory over Iowa Western. “This was a tremendous win, and it is a credit to these young men. Iowa Western is tough to beat at home and on the road. Our players answered the challenge and closed out the game in a way that shows their toughness and maturity,” he said.
The Grizzlies started hot against Iowa Western, building up a 10-point lead by the 12:49 mark in the first half. Although the Reivers battled back to pull within 4 points midway through the period, the Grizzlies continued to maintain control over their opponents and went into the halftime break with a 41-31 advantage.
“We had a pretty good first half on both ends of the floor,” Walker said. “Whenever we play Iowa Western, it is very important to defend the 3-point line and keep them out of transition. We did both in the first half. Once we got the lead to 10 the second time, we kept it there until halftime.”
Like any good team, Iowa Western answered the Grizzlies in the second half and erased the deficit, tying and finally taking their first lead of the contest at the 9:13 mark on free throws. The Reivers eventually built a 6-point lead with just five minutes remaining, but the Grizzlies battled back and hit several key free throws and 3-pointers to regain the lead, 77-76, with 40 seconds remaining in the game. A tip-in and another free throw allowed the Grizzlies to seal the victory.
“Like any well-coached team, Iowa Western came out and make a point to play to their strengths,” Walker said. “They attacked more in transition, and they got hot from the three. To our team’s credit, even though the lead disappeared, we made them work for it. Iowa Western is a team that can make a 10-0 run in three to four minutes. It took them over 10 minutes to catch us.
“From the five and a half minute mark on, we controlled the game,” he continued. “They had one basket in the last 3:08 of the game. Our defense produced a huge shot clock violation, and we contested their threes and took them out of transition.”
Against Iowa Western, the Grizzlies hit 26 of 62 shots from the field for 41.9 percent, six of 22 attempts from 3-point range for 27.3 percent and 22 of 31 shots from the free throw line for 71 percent. They grabbed 30 rebounds, dished 16 assists against 10 turnovers and also recorded three blocks and two steals.
Statistical leaders for the Grizzlies were freshman forward Terrel Martin-Garcia, who had 18 points, nine rebounds and one assist; sophomore guard Craig Eubanks with 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and one block; and freshman forward Ngor Barnaba, who had 12 points, seven rebounds and one assist. Freshman guard Dazhonetae Bennett and sophomore guard Jameel Moore added 9 and 8 points, respectively.
The Reivers hit 28 of 59 shots from the field for 47.5 percent, eight of 24 attempts from 3-point range for 33.3 percent and 14 of 30 free throws for 46.7 percent. They had 38 rebounds, 17 assists, 16 turnovers, one block and two steals. Leading scorers were Matt Donlan with 20 points; Donovan Jackson and Raheem Taylor, each with 14; and Deshawn Munson, 11.
“Our team is very deep. We will have a lot of unsung heroes this year,” Walker said. “Jahir Cabeza is at the top of that list for this game. Donlan was on fire from the three in the second half, but Jahir went in and shut him down for the last several minutes. That was a huge part of our success in that game.”
As for Friday’s game against Panola, Walker said it was very typical for a first game. “We had too many turnovers from guys who should have taken care of the ball. The good thing was that most of the turnovers were from our team trying to pass ahead to an open man or to set someone else up to score,” he explained.
For the game, the Grizzlies hit 24 of 65 shots from the field for 36.9 percent, eight of 24 3-point shots for 33.3 percent and 15 of 22 free throws for 68.2 percent. They had 36 rebounds, 14 assists, 15 turnovers, eight blocks and nine steals. Statistical leaders for the Grizzlies were Moore with 16 points, two rebounds and three assists, and Bennett with 15 points.
“We were able to have a couple of guys get hot in each half, and that helped us a lot,” Walker said. “Dazhonetae Bennett got hot in the first half with 14 points, going four for four from the three, and Jameel Moore got hot in the second half with 10 points on several timely baskets.”
Panola hit 19 of 63 shots from the field for 30.2 percent, nine of 29 3-point attempts for 31 percent and 12 of 20 free throws for 60 percent. Panola also had 41 rebounds 12 assists, 17 turnovers, three blocks and seven steals. Leading scorers were Jamie Rutherford and Josh Morris with 15 and 12 points, respectively.
Walker said the Grizzlies can take some good things from the tournament, but they also have things they need to improve. “First, we have to handle success. Counting our scrimmages, Iowa Western was the fourth team we’ve played that is ranked or receiving votes, and we are 3-1 against those teams. We have very good players who have answered the challenge so far. Second, we have to get more physical with our defensive box outs. We are allowing too many second chance opportunities for our opponents.”
He also said he would like to thank Holiday Inn Express for sponsoring the tournament and the fans for attending. “We could not have had the success we enjoyed without the backing from our sponsors and our community. This was a huge week for sports in West Plains, and I hope everyone felt the support that we did,” he said.
The Grizzlies take to the road this week for three games. Wednesday, they face Lewis & Clark Community College, Godfrey, Illinois, at 4 p.m. at Jefferson College in Hillsboro, Missouri, and Friday and Saturday, Nov. 7 and 8, they compete in the Worldwide Recycling Equipment Classic at Moberly Area Community College in Moberly, Missouri. They will face Planet Academy, Phoenix, Arizona, at 3 p.m. Friday and Allen County Community College, Iola, Kansas, at 3 p.m. Saturday.
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. Complete game statistics can be found at http://stats.njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/2014-15/div1/teams/missouristateuniversitywestplains.