WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Friday night, the Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team was hoping to exact a little revenge against Moberly Area Community College and send its sophomores into the sunset with a key victory over a Region 16 foe.
Instead, the Grizzlies found themselves out-paced again by the No. 10 team in the nation and trailing 95-74 when the final buzzer sounded. The loss gives the Grizzlies a 12-16 record overall and 2-6 record in the region.
“Moberly played well. They played like they were the No. 10 team in the country,” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Chris Popp said. “They shot the ball extremely well. That’s what they do, that’s their identity offensively. When they have it going like they did Friday, they’re hard to stop.”
The Greyhounds proved that in the first half when they jumped out to a 17-4 early lead. By the half, they had a 39-26 advantage over the Grizzlies. In the second half, the Grizzlies were able to narrow the lead to 10, but the Greyhounds went on a scoring spree and increased the lead to 22 points before ending the game with a 21-point final margin.
It didn’t help that one of the Grizzlies’ key inside players was unable to take the court. The Grizzlies went into the contest without sophomore Stefan Lakic, who was injured during practice earlier in the week and was unable to play. Even so, Lakic was one of four sophomores recognized during the game for their contributions to the program.
“Losing Stefan put us down to one post player,” Popp said. “We knew we needed people to step up for us. A lot of guys had stretches where they played well, but we needed that throughout the game. It’s disappointing. I wish we could have sent our sophomores out with a better result.”
Three Grizzlies scored in double figures during the evening, two of which were sophomores. Ricky Torres led the team with 19 points, followed by Lane Duncan, who scored his 13 in the second half. Freshman guard Darnell Butler added 11.
The Greyhounds were paced by Brandon Better with 33. He was the only Greyhound to score in double figures.
The Grizzlies close out the 2016-17 season tonight at home against Link Year Prep from Branson. Tip off is 7 p.m. in Joe Paul Evans Arena at the civic center. Admission to the game is free.
“It’s an opportunity for our fans to see this team one last time,” Popp 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.