WEST PLAINS, Mo. – You have to give it to the Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team – they don’t quit.
Despite being down 46-35 at halftime of Saturday’s annual homecoming game against Region 16 arch rival Three Rivers College from Poplar Bluff, the scrappy young Grizzlies battled back in the second half to out-score their counterparts 48-42. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, and the Grizzlies fell to the Raiders 88-83 in Joe Paul Evans Arena at the West Plains Civic Center. The Grizzlies are now 2-4 in region play and 11-14 overall.
“Our guys fought to the end and nearly pulled off a comeback, and for that I’m proud of them,” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Chris Popp said. “I’ve been proud of that effort all year. Our team does not quit.”
Even so, Popp knew his team needed to play well in both periods to secure a win. “Going into the game, I knew we couldn’t have one good half, like we did Wednesday at State Fair. That has been the case too many times this season. We were going to have to put together a complete game,” he explained.
“Again, for us, it has to start on the defensive end,” he continued. “We can score the basketball, but we need to get stops to fuel that. We weren’t terrible across the board, but it seemed that each time the scale was about to tip our way, in those key possessions, they made the plays and we didn’t. When we needed a big stop, we didn’t get it, and when we needed a big bucket, we didn’t get it, until the final stretch.”
The Grizzlies only shot 40.6 percent from the field and 10 percent from 3-point range in the first half. In the second, they increased those percentages to 55.2 and 50, respectively. For the game, they hit 47.5 percent from the field, 27.8 percent from 3-point range and 69 percent from the free throw line.
Leading scorer for the Grizzlies was redshirt freshman point guard Ricky Torres, who had 16 points. He was followed by redshirt freshman guard Lane Duncan and freshman forward Yannis Mendy with 13 points each, and freshman guard Darnell Butler with 10.
“Ricky stepped up down the stretch,” Popp said. “It was good to see Yannis getting back to being aggressive around the rim. He had nine rebounds to go with his 13 points. And, Isaiah Brown and Darnell came off the bench and gave us a lift.” Brown, a freshman guard, had 7 points.
For the game, the Raiders hit 44.3 percent of their shots from the field, 28.6 percent of their 3-point attempts and 69 percent of their free throws. Leading scorers were Camron Reedus with 25 points, and Gabe Grant and Terrence Parker each with 14.
Despite their struggles on the court early in the game, the Grizzlies were encouraged by an enthusiastic crowd. “It was a great atmosphere, and I know our guys appreciated that,” Popp said.
After a quick trip to ninth ranked Moberly Area Community College Wednesday in Moberly, the Grizzlies will close out their season with home games against St. Louis Community College Feb. 21, Moberly Feb. 24 and College of Faith Prep, West Memphis, Arkansas, Feb. 27. The latter is a make-up game from January.
“Our brutal schedule continues, but I tell our guys the great thing about this type of schedule is that we get another opportunity to play teams like Moberly,” the coach 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.