HILLSBORO, Mo. – The 2013-14 season has come to a disappointing halt for the Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team.
The Grizzlies fell to the Moberly (Mo.) Area Community College Greyhounds 77-68 Friday, Feb. 28, in the semifinals of the Region 16 Championship Tournament on the campus of Jefferson College in Hillsboro, Mo. The Grizzlies finish the season with an 18-13 record.
“Obviously, this season progressed in a completely different way than we expected it to,” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker said. “When we lost Malcolm (Henderson) and Jon(athan Tshibuy), we lost two excellent defenders and rebounders. We were 1-5 against NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) Top 15 teams. The team we beat is now No. 3 in the nation. We lost to Trinity Valley, who finished the season No. 8 in the nation without its leading scorer.
“In the region, we lost a triple overtime game at State Fair. We had free throws to seal the game with 2.5 seconds left, but we didn’t finish. We lost by 1 at Mineral Area, and we had an offensive rebound we turned into a dunk that inexplicably went almost all the way through the basket but somehow popped back out. We experienced adversity that can’t be explained,” he added.
“But a lot of credit belongs to these young men,” the coach said. “They could have given in to our misfortunes, but they didn’t. They still gave effort, and they still prepared to win games. I am proud of and appreciative for each one of these young men.”
The Grizzlies turned in their best effort against Moberly on Friday night, Walker said. “This was our best game against Moberly this season. Had we taken better care of the basketball and kept (Romond) Jenkins off the offensive glass, I have to believe that the outcome would have been different,” he said. “They outscored us by 18 in the points off turnovers category and by 8 in second chance points. We played better defensively, but we couldn’t hold them to just one shot.
“In the first half, we missed several open threes, but in the second half, those shots went in,” he added. “We attacked them where we needed to on the offensive end, and every time they made a run, we answered with our own run. We kept fighting, and our team deserves credit for that.”
The Grizzlies hit 19 of 51 shots from the field for 37.3 percent, eight of 25 shots from 3-point range for 32 percent and 22 of 29 shots from the free throw line for 75.9 percent. They also had 34 rebounds, 14 assists, four steals, seven blocks and 17 turnovers.
Leading scorers were sophomore guard Devaugntah Williams with 15 points, fellow sophomore guard Arroyo Edwards with 14, sophomore forward Malik London with 12 and freshman guard Jameel Moore 10. London recorded a double-double with 12 rebounds.
“We shared the ball well and took good shots,” Walker said. “We had 14 assists on 19 baskets, and we were 75.9 percent from the free throw line, and Malik came up big with a double-double.”
The Greyhounds hit 30 of 71 shots from the field for 42.3 percent, five of 13 attempts from 3-point range for 38.5 percent and 12 of 20 shots from the free throw line for 60 percent. They were led by Jenkins and Evan Singletary, each with 19 points, Jaysean Paige with 17 and Malcolm Hamilton with 10. Jenkins also had 17 rebounds, 12 off the offensive glass.
State Fair Community College, Sedalia, Mo., won the Region 16 Championship trophy Saturday afternoon, March 1, with an 84-70 win over Moberly. They will represent Region 16 in the District 4 Championship Saturday, March 8, in Sedalia. Win or lose, the Roadrunners will advance to the NJCAA Division I Men’s National Basketball Championship Tournament March 17-22 in Hutchinson, Kan., because of the NJCAA’s new rotating Zone Qualifier rule.
For more information about the Grizzly Basketball team, including complete statistics from the games, visit wp.missouristate.edu/grizzly/bb/.