PARK HILLS, Mo. – That first Region 16 win of the season continues to elude the Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team.
The Grizzlies, now 14-9 overall, 0-5 in Region 16 and 1-5 in Midwest Community College Athletic Conference (MCCAC) play, fell to the Mineral Area College Cardinals, ranked 12th in the most recent National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) poll, 76-69 Wednesday, Jan. 27, in Park Hills.
“This is disappointing because we fought back,” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker said. “We took the lead, 49-48, with under 10 minutes to go, and then we had some defensive slip-ups. Mineral Area is a team that averages 10 made threes a game, and we needed to hold them under that, but we didn’t.”
The Cardinals made their average in threes, connecting on 10 of 25 attempts for 40 percent. From the field they hit 25 of 55 shots for 45.5 percent, and at the charity stripe they connected on 16 of 27 attempts for 59.3 percent.
The Grizzlies, meanwhile, hit 23 of 54 attempts from the field for 42.6 percent, four of 19 attempts from 3-point range for 21.1 percent and 19 of 22 attempts from the free throw line for 86.4 percent.
“Except for those few possessions, we held them to almost 10 points under their average,” Walker said. “We had chances, we just didn’t finish well enough.”
Part of the problem was caused by turnovers. The Grizzlies committed 20 of them compared to the Cardinals’ 12. “We turned the ball over too much. It’s hard to win when that happens,” Walker said. “Offensively, we attacked the basket well and took advantage of the free throw line, but turnovers are missed opportunities.”
The Grizzlies’ next game is Saturday, Jan. 30, at Region 16 rival Moberly Area Community College in Moberly. The Grizzlies then return home to close out their season with games against St. Louis Community College on Feb. 3; College of Faith from West Memphis, Arkansas, on Feb. 6; State Fair Community College of Sedalia Feb. 9; and Feb. 15 against Faith Preparatory Academy from West Memphis, Arkansas.
“This team has yet to click all together at the same time,” Walker said. “The focus has always been to be playing our best basketball in February, and that is still very possible.”
For more information about the Grizzly Basketball program, visit the team’s website or call the Grizzly Basketball office at 417-255-7993. Complete game statistics can be found here.