PARK HILLS, Mo. – Area basketball fans had good reason to expect another barn burner on the hardwood Wednesday evening between Missouri State University-West Plains and nationally ranked Mineral Area College (MAC) in Park Hills.
On Jan. 16, the Grizzlies had taken the Cardinals into two overtimes before falling to their Region 16 counterparts 91-88 at the West Plains Civic Center, but Wednesday’s rematch fell short of expectations, as the No. 4 team in the nation flew past the Grizzlies 97-62. The Grizzlies are now 1-3 in region play and 10-13 overall.
“For the second time this year, we played very poorly against a very good team that played very well,” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Chris Popp said. “They’re a legitimate No. 4 team and played like it Wednesday night.”
Despite a small early lead, the Grizzlies struggled on both ends of the floor. They shot 40.7 percent from the field compared to the Cardinals’ 64.2 percent, they were out-rebounded 30-14, and they had 21 turnovers compared to MAC’s eight.
“It was one of those nights from the start,” the coach explained. “Even though we got up 14-12 early, it felt like things weren’t clicking. We weren’t playing well. Some guys had good moments, but as a whole, we didn’t perform the way we had been.”
Only three Grizzlies scored in double figures for the evening. Sophomore forward Stefan Lakic and redshirt freshman guard Lane Duncan each had 11 points, and redshirt freshman point guard Ricky Torres had 10.
Four Cardinals scored in double figures. Zac Cuthbertson led the team with 27 points, followed by Devin Thomas with 24, Shawn Roundtree with 18 and Djibril Diallo 10.
The Grizzlies will try to right the ship Feb. 8 when they travel to Sedalia to face Region 16 foe State Fair Community College. They’ll return home Feb. 11 for the annual homecoming game against Three Rivers College of Poplar Bluff at 7 p.m. in the civic center before returning to the road Feb. 15 to face No. 11 Moberly Area Community College in Moberly.
“We have the opportunity on Wednesday to get things going in the right direction before homecoming against Three Rivers and No. 11 Moberly on Feb. 15,” Popp said.
In addition to the Feb. 11 homecoming game, the Grizzlies have home contests against St. Louis Community College Feb. 21, Moberly Feb. 24 and College of Faith Prep of West Memphis, Arkansas, Feb. 27. The latter is a make-up game that was originally scheduled Jan. 17.
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.