TONKAWA, Okla. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team picked up a much-needed road win Tuesday evening at Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa, avenging a loss to the Mavericks before the holiday break.
The Grizzlies, now 13-5, downed the Mavericks (12-3) 79-77 in a hard-fought contest that remained close throughout. “This was the win we needed,” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker said. “It was a close game out of state, and we did what we needed to do to win the game.
“Tonkawa is a very good team that executes well on the offensive end,” the coach continued. “They also change defenses regularly to keep their opponents on their toes. But we played much better on both ends of the floor. Our guys took it as a challenge to make up for the win they got at our place in December.”
The Grizzlies found themselves down 37-32 at the halftime break, but battled back to out-score the Mavericks 47-40 in the second half. “We really executed on both ends of the floor in this game. What hurt us was transition defense,” Walker said. “We had several possessions that we didn’t get the ball stopped or even slowed down, and that led to most of their points.”
Game statistics show the Grizzlies hit 27 of 58 attempts from the field for 47 percent, six of 22 attempts from 3-point range for 27 percent and 19 of 27 free throw attempts for 70 percent. They also had 33 rebounds, 13 assists, nine turnovers, five steals and three blocks.
Leading scorers were freshman forward Devonte Campbell with 22 points, followed by freshman guard Vonny Irvin with 19 points and sophomore forward Terrel Martin-Garcia 15 points. Sophomore forward Ngor Barnaba led the team in rebounds with nine.
The Mavericks hit 29 of 55 shots from the field for 53 percent, six of 12 attempts from 3-point range for 50 percent and 13 of 21 free throw attempts for 62 percent. They also had 32 rebounds, 10 assists, 14 turnovers and five steals. Leading scorers were Torey Noel with 23 points, Valentine Sangoyomi 12 and Jarred Rhodes 10.
The Grizzlies return home to host Region 16 rival Mineral Area College of Park Hills at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 9, in Joe Paul Evans Arena at the West Plains Civic Center. Colton’s Steakhouse and Grill is the game sponsor.
“This win is a good momentum boost going into the Mineral Area game,” Walker said. “We have to protect home court and keep ourselves within striking distance in the Region 16 race. We’ll need all we can get for a home court advantage, so we hope to have as many people in the stands as we can get.”
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.