WICHITA, Kan. – Focus was the name of the game Monday night, Nov. 30, for the Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team as it faced the junior varsity squad at Friends University in Wichita, Kansas.
The Grizzlies, now 9-2, defeated the Falcons 78-33, but Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker said the game wasn’t about scoring points or winning by a large margin. “It was about our level of focus and how well we focused on our defensive assignments and our efficiency on the offensive end,” he explained.
“We did fine the first half, but I was very proud of how we played in the second,” he continued. “We could have won by the same margin and traded baskets for the entire half, but we didn’t. We really executed well on the defensive end of the floor.”
The Falcons only hit six of their 18 attempts from the field and none of their eight shots from 3-point range during the second half thanks to that Grizzly defense.
“Offensively, we didn’t hunt shots, we were patient, and we took the shots that will make us better,” Walker said. For the game, the Grizzlies connected on 23 of 44 shots from the field for 52 percent, eight of 20 3-point attempts for 40 percent and six of 11 free throws for 55 percent. They also recorded 45 rebounds, 15 assists, three blocks, 12 steals and 12 turnovers.
Leading the way was sophomore forward Ngor Barnaba with 16 points and nine rebounds. He was followed by freshman guard Vonny Irvin with 9 points, three assists, six rebounds and one block; and freshman forward Devonte Campbell with 9 points, six rebounds, one assist, one block and two steals. Walker also noted that freshman guard Jaelin Sanford and sophomore guard Antonio Winn each had four assists.
For the game, the Falcons hit 14 of 51 shots from the field for 27 percent, two of 22 3-point attempts for 9 percent and three of nine free throws for 33 percent. They also recorded 29 rebounds, four assists and two steals. Leading the Falcons in scoring was Myron Varmall with 8 points.
The Grizzlies will open Region 16 play Saturday, Dec. 5, when they travel to Poplar Bluff to face arch rival Three Rivers College at 7 p.m. “It is early, but that is how scheduling worked out,” Walker said. “Three Rivers is very talented, and they will be difficult to beat in Poplar Bluff. We will have to prepare at a high level, then compete with a high level of focus and urgency when game time rolls around.”
Walker also addressed the team’s decision late last week to pull out of the Pepsi Thanksgiving Classic hosted by Garden City Community College (GCCC) Nov. 27 and 28 in Garden City, Kansas, due to the threat of inclement weather. “We were disappointed to not be able to make it to Garden City. We were really looking forward to those games as a measuring stick, as was Coach Brady Trenkle at GCCC,” 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.