HILLSBORO, Mo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team will take a 3-0 record into the Worldwide Recycling Equipment Classic at Moberly Area Community College in Moberly, Missouri, this weekend after defeating Lewis & Clark Community College, Godfrey, Illinois, Wednesday evening, Nov. 5, at Jefferson College in Hillsboro, Missouri.
The Grizzlies downed Lewis & Clark 83-76 to maintain the unblemished record. Today, Nov. 7, they will face Planet Academy, Phoenix, Arizona, at 3 p.m., then play Allen County Community College, Iola, Kansas, at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, in the tournament at Moberly.
Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker called Wednesday’s contest against Lewis & Clark “a trap game, in some respects. We were coming off a big win against Iowa Western last weekend, and we came into an empty gym at 4 p.m. against a team that was hyped to play its first game. On top of that, they played mostly 2-3 zone, so we got a little stagnant on offense.
“Once we got the ball moving, we finished with 15 assists on 23 baskets, we made more free throws than they shot, and we made almost 41 percent of our threes. When those stats are on your side, you usually win,” he added.
The Grizzlies started off strong in the first half, going up by as many as 7 points, 13-6, before Lewis & Clark began to challenge. The Pioneers took over the lead at the 11:50 mark in the first half and built up an 8-point lead before the Grizzlies battled back to knot the score at 24-24 with 6:09 remaining in the period. The Grizzlies continued to work to rebuild their lead and went into the halftime break with a 34-28 advantage. The teams stayed close throughout much of the second half until the Grizzlies started inching away in the final five minutes.
Overall, the Grizzlies connected on 23 of 59 shots from the field for 39 percent, nine of 22 attempts from 3-point range for 40.9 percent and 28 of 39 shots from the free throw line for 71.8 percent. They had 24 rebounds, 14 of which came off the offensive glass, and recorded 15 assists, 13 turnovers four blocks and eight steals.
Leading scorers were freshman guard Dazhonetae Bennett with 27 points, followed by sophomore guard Jameel Moore with 17 and sophomore guard Craig Eubanks with 10. Bennett also had five rebounds and two assists; Moore one rebound, four assists and four steals; and Eubanks two rebounds.
The Pioneers hit 27 of 62 attempts from the field for 43.5 percent, five of 15 shots from 3-point range for 33.3 percent and 14 of 24 attempts from the charity stripe for 70.8 percent. They also recorded 31 rebounds, 11 assists, 17 turnovers, three blocks and six steals. Leading scorers were Burak Eslik with 21 points, JJ Cratit 17 and Mike Sanchez 11.
Walker said the Grizzlies will face two tough opponents this weekend in Moberly. “With this young of a team, we have to keep focusing on what is right in front of us. I am proud of how they have handled things so far,” he said.
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.