WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team will have a lot to think about during its holiday break after falling to No. 19 Indian Hills Community College, Ottumwa, Iowa, 93-67 Tuesday evening in Joe Paul Evans Arena at the West Plains Civic Center.
After jumping out to a 10-4 lead early, the Grizzlies found themselves in the middle of a “perfect storm” of factors that proved to be too much to overcome, Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Chris Popp said.
“Indian Hills is a very good team, and they played very well, and for the second game in a row, we did not,” he explained. “They put on their press, and we responded by taking some quick shots that didn’t fall. Then they started making shots, and the flood gates opened. The full-court press hasn’t bothered us all year, but it caused us a lot of problems last night. Between those turnovers and lack of defensive rebounding, we gave Indian Hills a lot of easy offensive opportunities.
“Once they got it going, it seemed like every shot fell, every ball bounced their way,” he continued. “But that falls on us as, we allowed that to happen early, and this is what happens when you do.”
After starting strong, the Grizzlies fell behind and were down 44-26 at halftime. In the second half, the Warriors took advantage of a series of turnovers by the Grizzlies to build a 42-point lead, but the Grizzlies showed their grit, battling back to chip away at the lead, but it was too little too late to make up the difference.
One bright spot for the Grizzlies was the play of freshman forward Yannis Mendy, who scored a team-leading 25 points against the nationally-ranked Warriors. “Yannis established himself in that game, and has been establishing himself as someone we need to get the ball to,” Popp said. “Indian Hills has some very good bigs, and he stood out.”
Also scoring for the Grizzlies were redshirt freshman guard Lane Duncan, who chipped in 10 points, as well as freshman point guard Quinton Gray and redshirt freshman point guard Ricky Torres, who added 9 and 8 points, respectively.
The Grizzlies are on hiatus until Jan. 3 when they will host a rematch with Southwest Tennessee Community College from Memphis at 7 p.m. at the civic center. The Grizzlies lost a heart-breaker to the Saluqui’s in overtime Nov. 29 in Memphis, 77-75.
On Jan. 6-7, the Grizzlies will host the Hirsch Feed & Farm Supply, Inc., Classic at the civic center. Joining the Grizzlies on the court will be Motlow State Community College, Lynchburg, Tennessee; North Arkansas College, Harrison; and Sunrise Christian Academy, Wichita, Kansas.
North Arkansas and Motlow will face off at 5 p.m. Jan. 6, followed by the Grizzlies and Sunrise Christian Academy at 7 p.m. On Jan. 7, North Arkansas will play Sunrise Christian Academy at 3 p.m., followed by the Grizzlies and Motlow State at 5 p.m.
Although he’s disappointed in the Grizzlies’ record to date, Popp said he’s very encouraged about the team and the spring semester. “I’m encouraged with the way we’ve played at times. I’m very happy with this group of guys. They are coachable and are working to get better,” he said.
For more information about the Grizzly Basketball program, visit the team’s website, or call 417-255-7991. Complete box scores of the games can be found online, as well.