JOPLIN, Mo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team’s season came to an end Friday night, Feb. 27, when they fell to the nationally-ranked Mineral Area College Cardinals of Park Hills, Missouri, in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 16 semifinals at Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri.
The Grizzlies end the season with a 21-11 record. The 10th-ranked Cardinals, 25-3, advanced to the NJCAA District 4 playoff after defeating Moberly (Missouri) Area Community College 69-53 in Saturday’s Region 16 Championship. They will face the Region 4 winner, which will be determined tonight. The winner of that game will advance to the NJCAA Division I Men’s National Basketball Championship March 16-21 in Hutchinson, Kansas.
Although Friday’s game was closely contested, the Grizzlies couldn’t find the run needed to put them over the top. “This would have been a great college game no matter what level it was on,” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker said. “There were 12 ties and 12 lead changes. That being said, the entire night we were playing catch-up. We never were able to build a substantial lead and break away from them.
“Defensively, we played as well as we could have,” he added. “We held them below their averages both from the field and from the three, but they made 10 more free throws than we shot. In reality, they made more free throws in each individual half than we made in the game. That is hard to overcome. We allowed one quick run in the second half, but we came back from it and had chances to win. We just couldn’t quite seal the deal,” Walker continued.
The Grizzlies kept the game close in the first half, with neither team building a double-digit lead in the period. At the end of the half, the Grizzlies were down 36-33. The Cardinals were, however, to build an 11-point lead at the 13:38 mark in the second half, but the Grizzlies battled back to take a 2-point lead of their own with 4:16 remaining in the game, but free throws allowed the Cardinals to pull away in the final minute of the contest.
“We were very patient on offense and took very good shots,” Walker said. “They struggled defensively in the half court, and because of that, all five of our starters scored in double figures. Our bench was very good, as well. We had to absorb some foul trouble, but there was not drop off. Everyone was focused and played well.”
According to game statistics, the Grizzlies hit 27 of 57 shots from the field for 47.4 percent, five of 15 attempts from 3-point range for 33.3 percent and 14 of 20 shots from the free throw line for 70 percent. They also had 32 rebounds, 19 assists, two steals, seven blocks and 15 turnovers.
Sophomore guard Jameel Moore picked up his fifth double-double of the season, scoring 18 points and dishing out 13 assists. Sophomore guard Craig Eubanks also had 18 points. Freshman forwards Terrel Martin-Garcia and Ngor Barnaba each had 11 points, and freshman guard Dazhonetae Bennett added 10.
The Cardinals hit 21 of 56 attempts from the field for 37.5 percent, five of 14 shots from 3-point range for 35.7 percent and 30 of 38 free throw attempts for 79.9 percent. They also had 28 rebounds, seven assists, nine steals, two blocks and 12 turnovers. Leading scorers were Anthony Virdure with 27 points, followed by Randy Holmes with 19 and Greg Tucker 15.
“I can’t compliment our sophomores enough. They gave their hearts to their teammates and to this institution. They were exceptional,” Walker said. “Even though Desmond Rorie’s season was hampered by an early knee injury, his averages per 40 minutes have been about 8 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks. He led us in rebounding against Highland, Mineral Area and State Fair.
“As a freshman Craig started two games and scored in double figures against Quakerdale Promise Academy,” the coach continued. “As a sophomore, he scored in double figures in 16 games this season and led the team in rebounds in two games. He missed leading the team in rebounding by one rebound in three other games. He also recorded two double-doubles this season, with one of those coming against top 10-ranked Coffeyville Community College. Of the games Craig led the Grizzlies in scoring or scored in double figures, he was the leading rebounder or second leading rebounder in three of those games. He did all of that playing the two and the three.
“Jameel led us in scoring nine times and scored in double figures an additional 14 times. He led in assists in 25 of our games this season. He recorded double-doubles against Cowley in points and rebounds; Independence with points and assists; Highland, where he set the program record for most assists in a game with 16; and his final game against Mineral Area, where he had 18 points and 13 assists. He also tied the old record of 14 assists, and with the Mineral Area game, he has three of the top four assists in a game performances in the history of the program. Maybe his most impressive feat of the 21 games in which he was the leading scorer or scored in double figures is that he was also our assists leader in 19 of those games,” Walker said.
Walker said he was very proud of this year’s team. “We played the toughest schedule in the region and had some great wins. We defeated Iowa Western early in the season when they were receiving top 25 votes, we had two top 10 wins over Coffeyville and Mineral Area, and we had to have the greatest comeback in college basketball with our win against Three Rivers when we were down 16 points with 3:40 remaining and won in regulation,” he said.
With the close of the season, Walker issued several thank-yous. “I want to thank our sponsors and the community for all of the support they provided this season. We could not have a successful program without them. I want to thank Brian Ingalls and my dad, Bill Walker, for doing the games on radio. I received many compliments on the job they did. I want to thank Strength and Conditioning Coach Keri Elrod for her work, and I want to thank Chantz Reese, Drew Clark and Bryn Trent for their work as student assistants. The were all extremely valuable.
“I want to thank Fred and Jason Alexander for their continued commitment to the Grizzly Basketball program, and I want to thank Assistant Coaches Chad Van Riessen and Adam Short. Without a doubt, I have the best assistant coaches in the nation. I also want to thank our team. They began the year with very little experience and took on all opponents to win 20-plus games, yet again. That is so very hard to do, and they did it.
“Lastly, I would like to say thank you to the people who rode the fan bus to Joplin to support us Friday. That was a great feeling and really showed how special our institution truly is,” Walker 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.