WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team will face one of its toughest opponents of the season Tuesday, Dec. 13, when they host the 19th-ranked Indian Hills Community College Warriors from Ottumwa, Iowa, in Joe Paul Evans Arena at the West Plains Civic Center for the final game of the fall semester.
The Grizzlies will go into the contest with a 7-7 record after posting a win and a loss in the Grizzly Christmas Classic this past weekend. The Grizzlies defeated College of Faith Prep Academy, West Memphis, Arkansas, 118-95 Friday, Dec. 9, but lost to Iowa Western Community College from Council Bluffs 85-72 Saturday, Dec. 10.
Tuesday’s game will be the first time in nearly four years since the Grizzlies and Warriors faced off in West Plains, and Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Chris Popp said he and his team are looking forward to the challenge. “Indian Hills will be the most talented team we’ve seen this year, so we’ve got our work cut out for us. But as a competitor, that’s what you want – to play great teams and have that challenge in front of you,” he said.
The Grizzlies will have to play better than they did Saturday afternoon, however, to pick up a win. “When you play really good teams, you cannot afford to not play well, and we did not play well against Iowa Western,” Popp said. “Our two leading scorers went 7-26 from the field and 1-9 from the three. We had some other guys who stepped up, but it wasn’t enough.”
Two of the Grizzlies who stepped up and did play well against Iowa Western were freshman point guard Quinton Gray and freshman guard Marcus Blackwell. “They raised their level in a very physical and competitive game,” Popp said. Gray had 13 points and seven assists, while Blackwell had 9 points and a team-leading six rebounds.
Redshirt freshman forward Stefan Lakic led the team in scoring with 14 points. Freshman forward Yannis Mendy added 13.
Although Popp said he was disappointed in Saturday’s outcome, “there were several positives and a lot to learn from. There were quite a few things we did well early in the season that we need to re-emphasize now. Our communication defensively and defensive transition were huge issues on Saturday. We’ve also slowed down the speed of our movement. For us to be as good as we can be, we have to play fast and hard at all times.”
The Grizzlies didn’t seem to have the same issues Friday against College of Faith Prep. They jumped out to a 63-48 lead at halftime and outscored their opponent 55-47 in the second half.
Seven Grizzlies scored in double figures. They included freshman forward D’Shawnn Coleman with 19 points, Lakic with 18, redshirt freshman guard Lane Duncan 17, Mendy and freshman guard Isaiah Brown 11 points each, and freshman guard Darnell Butler and sophomore guard Dwayne Orija each with 10.
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.