WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team now ranks second in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 16 standings after defeating State Fair Community College, Sedalia, Missouri, 106-50 Tuesday night, Jan. 20, in Joe Paul Evans Arena at the West Plains Civic Center.
The Grizzlies, 16-7 overall, are 2-1 in region play – one game behind leader and nationally ranked Mineral Area College, Park Hills, Missouri, which is 3-0 in the region and 20-1 for the season. Third is Three Rivers College, Poplar Bluff, Missouri, with a 2-2 region record and 17-6 overall record. Moberly (Missouri) Area Community College, 16-6 overall, is fourth with a 1-2 record, and State Fair, 4-15 overall, sits at fifth with an 0-3 region record.
Mineral Area will be the next opponent for the Grizzlies. The 10th-ranked team in the nation will come to the civic center Tuesday, Jan. 27, for a 7 p.m. contest. “Mineral Area is coming in next week as a top 10 team. I would love for them to come in and play in front of a crowd like we had last Saturday against Three Rivers,” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker said.
As for last night’s game against State Fair, Walker said he was proud of how the team maintained its focus against nearly the entire game. “We could have been lackadaisical in the second half, but we stayed pretty well on point. They only got one transition basket in that half, and our goal was zero,” he said.
Statistics show the Grizzlies connected on 42 of 78 attempts from the field for 53.8 percent, 15 of 38 attempts from 3-point range for 39.5 percent and seven of eight free throws for 87.5 percent. They also recorded 43 rebounds (14 offensive), 33 assists and eight blocks. Leading scorers were sophomore guard Craig Eubanks and freshman guards Dazhonetae Bennett and Keeton Tennison each with 23 points, and freshman forward Terrel Martin-Garcia with 12 points.
“We shared the ball very well,” Walker said. “Almost 79 percent of our baskets came from an assist. In particular sophomore guard Jameel Moore shared the ball very well, dishing out 14 assists in the game. He now has the top two performances for assists in a game in program history.” Moore set the record Dec. 13 when he recorded 16 assists against Highland (Kansas) Community College at the civic center.
State Fair connected on 18 of 62 attempts from the field for 29 percent, six of 23 attempts from 3-point range for 26.1 percent and eight of 12 free throws for 66.7 percent. The Roadrunners also recorded 29 rebounds (11 offensive), 11 assists and 16 turnovers. Leading scorers were Ryan Surface with 12 points and Selvedin Planincic with 10.
The game was sponsored by The Shoe Factory Lofts, and Walker said he would like to thank the local private student housing company for “all that they do for our team. They have really helped us out a tremendous amount.”
Walker reminded fans to tune into the new “Above the Rim” streaming live video segment at 10 a.m. every Monday at www.ihigh.com/msuwestplains to learn the latest news on the Grizzlies as they continue their march through the 2014-15 season. Those who cannot tune in live can view the segment later in the archives of the website. Fans also may ask Walker questions through Twitter by using the hashtag #GrizzlyTalk, or they may e-mail questions to AboveTheRim@MissouriState.edu.
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.