MOBERLY, Mo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzlies lost some ground in the National Junior College Athletic Association’s (NJCAA) Region 16 standings over the weekend, falling to Moberly Area Community College 71-66 Saturday evening, Jan. 31, in Moberly, Missouri.
The loss drops the Grizzlies’ overall season record to 17-8 and their Region 16 record to 3-2, leaving them tied with Three Rivers College (19-6 overall), Poplar Bluff, Missouri, in second place in the region standings. Mineral Area College, Park Hills, Missouri, remains on top with a 21-2 overall record and a 4-1 Region 16 record. Moberly, 17-7 overall, is now fourth in the region with 2-3 record. State Fair Community College (4-17 overall), Sedalia, Missouri, sits at fifth with a 0-4 record in the region.
“It was a game of runs,” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker said of Saturday’s contest. “We were up by 8 points before halftime, and they went on a 5-0 run to get it to 3 going into the locker room. We were up by 9 with about 8:30 to go and couldn’t hold them off. It could be simplified down to doing our jobs. When we got defensive stops, we all did our jobs well. When they made their runs, we over-helped or gave up offensive rebounds. If we want to point to the point difference, they made one more 2-point basket and three more free throws than we did, and that is the 5-point difference.”
The Grizzlies connected on 25 of 54 shots from the field for 46.3 percent, seven of 25 attempts from 3-point range for 28 percent and nine of 14 shots from the free throw line for 64.3 percent. They also had 29 rebounds, 16 assists and 14 turnovers. Leading scorers were sophomore guard Jameel Moore with 22 points, freshman forward Terrel Martin-Garcia with 16 points, and sophomore guard Craig Eubanks with 11 points. Martin-Garcia also recorded 10 rebounds, giving him another double-double performance.
The Greyhounds hit 26 of 60 shots from the field for 43.3 percent, seven of 19 shots from 3-point range for 36.8 percent and 12 of 23 attempts from the free throw line for 52.2 percent. They also recorded 28 rebounds, 12 assists and seven turnovers. Leading scorers were Travon Williams with 17 points, Daniel Dzierzawski 13 points, and Gustavs Puhovs and Donta Jones each with 12.
“We told our players we needed to hold them in the low 60s to win, and we were on pace until the last eight minutes of the game. We were less aggressive against their zone and didn’t get to the free throw line as much as we needed to,” Walker said.
The coach also pointed out the Grizzlies were without the services of freshman guard Dazhonetae Bennett, who is the team’s leading scorer this season. Bennett was injured in the Mineral Area game Jan. 27 and is day-to-day, the coach said.
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.