WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team will face Mineral Area College, Park Hills, Missouri, in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 16 semifinals at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, at Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri.
The Grizzlies, 21-10 overall and 4-4 in regular season region play, advanced to the semifinals when they defeated State Fair Community College, Sedalia, Missouri, 82-56 in a quarterfinal “play-in” game Tuesday evening, Feb. 24, in Joe Paul Evans Arena at the West Plains Civic Center. The Grizzlies are seeded fourth in the region’s postseason tournament. State Fair (4-24, 0-8) was seeded fifth.
The nationally-ranked Mineral Area Cardinals are seeded first with a 24-3 overall record and 6-2 record in regular season region play. Friday’s other semifinal game at 8 p.m. will pit second seeded Three Rivers College (23-7, 6-2) of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, against third seeded Moberly (Missouri) Area Community College (21-9, 4-4). The winners of the semifinal games will meet at 8 p.m. Saturday at Ozark Christian College to play for the Region 16 championship and the right to advance in NJCAA postseason play.
Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker said the Grizzlies seemed more focused Tuesday night than they did in their previous two outings. “This is a hard game to gauge, but I thought for the most part we were focused,” he said. “State Fair ran every defense they could at us, and we scored the ball pretty well. Defensively, when your opponent spreads you out like they did, our on-the-ball defense has to be good, and it was for the most part.
“Essentially, we did what we needed to do,” Walker continued. “We outscored them in the paint, we outscored them in transition, we got easy baskets off turnovers, and we shared the ball. We also executed our defensive adjustments and got them to turn it over.”
Statistics show the Grizzlies outscored the State Fair Roadrunners 36-30 in the paint and 20-0 in fast-break points. In addition, they had 28 assists on 33 baskets.
Overall, the Grizzlies connected on 33 of 68 shots from the field for 48.5 percent, 14 of 33 attempts from 3-point range for 42.4 percent and two of three shots from the free throw line for 66.7 percent. They also recorded 30 rebounds, 13 steal, nine blocks and 12 turnovers.
Leading scorers included sophomore guard Craig Eubanks with 18 points, freshman forward Terrel Martin-Garcia with 12, sophomore guard Jameel Moore and freshman guard Keeton Tennison both with 11 points, and freshman guard Jahir Cabeza with 10. Moore picked up his fourth double-double performance of the year, adding 10 assists to his 11 points.
The Roadrunners hit 21 of 61 attempts from the field for 34.4 percent, five of 24 attempts from 3-point range for 20.8 percent and nine of 14 free throw attempts for 64.3 percent. They also recorded 41 rebounds, 16 assists, six steals, two blocks and 22 turnovers. Leading scorers were Clint Robinson, who had a double-double with 28 points and 12 rebounds, and Selvedin Planincic with 18 points.
Walker thanked all the Grizzly fans who came to the game, saying, “we really appreciate it.”
He also pointed out the postseason “starts for real now. Mineral Area will be ready for us, so our preparation these next couple of days is crucial.”
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.