WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team will go into Wednesday’s home contest against St. Louis Community College with a 6-1 record after a three-game road trip last week.
The Grizzlies defeated Ottawa University JV 101-67 Nov. 11 in Ottawa, Kansas, then split their games at the Holiday Inn/Hampton Inn Reiver Classic hosted by Iowa Western Community College Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13 and 14, in Council Bluffs. They lost to the hosting Reivers, ranked 23rd in the NJCAA Division I men’s preseason poll, 85-92 Friday then defeated Des Moines Area Community College, ranked eighth in the NJCAA Division II men’s preseason poll, 84-76 Saturday.
“The weekend, overall, was good for us,” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker said. “We competed at a high level, and we get another chance to play Iowa Western when they come to our place in December. We have to continue to work at defending the ball in transition and in scramble situations.”
The Reivers were the Grizzlies’ first big test of the season, and Walker said, “we did pretty well. We came out and took the fight to them on both sides of the ball. We took them out of transition and executed very well on the offensive end. What we couldn’t overcome was how poorly we shot at the free throw line, but we beat them in every other category.”
The Grizzlies shot only 46.2 percent from the charity stripe, connecting on only 12 of 26 attempts. From the field, they hit 50 percent of their shots, connecting on 31 of 62. They also hit 11 of 22 shots from 3-point range for 50 percent. In addition, they recorded 40 rebounds, 20 assists, 15 turnovers and two blocks
Statistical leaders were sophomore forward Ngor Barnaba with 27 points and eight rebounds; sophomore forward Terrel Martin-Garcia with 21 points, 11 rebounds and two assists; freshman forward Devonte Campbell with 13 points, four rebounds and two assists; and freshman guard Jaelin Sanford with 10 points, three rebounds and three assists.
Iowa Western hit 35 of 63 shots from the field for 55.6 percent, four of 11 3-point attempts for 36.4 percent and 18 of 31 free throws for 58.1 percent. The Reivers also had 43 rebounds, 13 assists, 15 turnovers, four blocks and 10 steals. Scoring leaders were Donovan Jackson and Andre Wallace each with 16 points, Thik Bol with 14, and Isaiah Walton 11.
“We held their scorers under their averages, and that wasn’t easy to do,” Walker said.
The Grizzlies didn’t have long to recoup from the disappointing loss. They faced Des Moines at 3 p.m. Saturday, and Walker admitted it was a difficult game to play following the disappointing loss the night before. “We could have easily been sluggish, but we weren’t. We were focused on our defensive assignments,” he said. “We were a lot more aggressive this game and were rewarded by going to the free throw line 32 times.”
The Grizzlies hit 26 of those 32 shots for an impressive 81.3 percent showing at the free throw line. From the field, they hit 26 of 62 attempts for 41.9 percent and six of 21 3-point shots for 28.6 percent. They also grabbed 31 rebounds, dished out 10 assists, committed nine turnovers, blocked two shots and stole the ball six times. Statistical leaders were Barnaba with 20 points and four rebounds, Campbell with 16 points and seven rebounds, and freshman forward Shondell Jackson with 14 points and two rebounds.
Des Moines hit 28 of 58 shots from the field for 48.3 percent, six of 14 3-point attempts for 42.9 percent and 14 of 18 free throws for 77.8 percent. They also had 34 rebounds, 10 assists, 15 turnovers and one block. Scoring leaders were Cam Epps with 19 points, Johnny Benson Jr. 17, Jafar Kinsey 14 and Baylee Steele 13.
Of the Nov. 11 Ottawa JV game, Walker said it was hard for the Grizzlies to get into. “We were a little sluggish in the beginning, but we hit our stride as the game went on. Terrel and Devonte set the pace in the first half with 28 points between them. Shondell got hot in the second half and helped break the game open. I was a little disappointed in the defensive effort, but it improved as we substituted, and we were able to make runs because of our defense,” the coach said.
For the game Martin-Garcia had 28 points, 11 rebounds and four steals. He was followed by Jackson with 18 points, four rebounds and one assist; Campbell with 14 points, four rebounds and three steals; and Barnaba with 10 points, four rebounds and three steals.
Overall, the Grizzlies hit 36 of 72 shots from the field for 50 percent, 14 of 32 3-point attempts for 44 percent and 15 of 17 free throws for 88 percent. They also collected 39 rebounds, 16 assists, two blocks, 15 steals and 13 turnovers.
Ottawa hit 24 of 53 shots from the field for 45 percent, seven of 20 3-point attempts for 35 percent and 12 of 15 free throws for 80 percent. The team also collected 20 rebounds, nine assists, six steals and 21 turnovers.
Wednesday’s game against St. Louis Community College will be the Grizzlies’ first ever Midwest Community College Athletic Conference (MCCAC) game. The Grizzlies joined the conference this year as a way to secure additional games closer to home, Walker said. Other conference members in basketball include Region 16 rivals State Fair Community College, Three Rivers College and Mineral Area College. Region 16 rival Moberly Area Community College is not a member of the MCCAC.
“We hope to see everyone Wednesday for our first MCCAC game,” Walker 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/2015-16/div1/teams/missouristateuniversitywestplains.