WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team upped its record to 6-1 Saturday, Nov. 15, with a 83-63 win over Kennedy-King College of Chicago, Illinois, in Joe Paul Evans Arena at the West Plains Civic Center.

“This was another complete team win,” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker said.  “Our big guys were in a little bit of foul trouble early, but everyone we called on did a great job.”

The Grizzlies went on a 9-0 run to start the contest and never looked back, taking a 43-33 advantage into halftime.  The Grizzlies maintained their control in the second half, outscoring the Statesmen 40-30 in the second half.

But Walker said fans shouldn’t let the scoring fool them.  “The score distorts how good Kennedy King is.  They kept it within striking distance for a long time.  The two differences in the game were the threes and the free throws,” he said.

The Grizzlies hit five more 3-pointers and five more free throws than the Statesmen, equalling the 20-point difference.  “We also got a nice scoring lift from our bench from Malik London, Chris Kouakou and Keeton Tennison and that was part of the difference,” Walker added.  The trio combined for 20 of the Grizzlies’ 83 points.

Overall, the Grizzlies connected on 26 of 56 attempts from the field for 46.4 percent, eight of 17 3-point attempts for 47.1 percent and 23 of 29 free throw attempts for 79.3 percent.  They also collected 35 rebounds, handed out 15 assists, committed 16 turnovers and recorded eight blocks and eight steals.

Leading the way was freshman guard Dazhonetae Bennett with 21 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks.  Freshman forward Terrel Martin-Garcia added 20 points, six rebounds, one assist and one steal, and sophomore guard Jameel Moore had 12 points, six assists, two steals and two blocks.

The Statesmen hit 21 of 53 shots from the field for 38.9 percent, three of 13 3-point attempts for 23.1 percent and 18 of 29 free throw attempts for 62.1 percent.  They also had 36 rebounds, nine assists, 20 turnovers and seven steals.

The only disappointing aspect to the game for the Grizzlies was their efficiency in transition, Walker said.  “We missed on several opportunities that we shouldn’t have,” he said.  “It boiled down to spacing.  We didn’t do a good job of getting to our early offense spots.”

Walker said he would like to thank Howell County Outpost for sponsoring the game and the Grizzly fans who attended the game.  “I can’t say enough that having our program would be incredibly tough if we didn’t have the support of our sponsors,” he said.  “Although it was a cold night with a little bit of weather, our fans made it to the Joe Paul Evans Arena and did a great job of supporting our team.”

The Grizzlies’ next game will be today, Nov. 18, against Redlands Community College.  The contest gets underway at 7 p.m. in El Reno, Oklahoma.

For more information about the Grizzly Basketball program, visit the team’s website at http://wp.missouristate.edu/grizzly/bb.htm or call the Grizzly Basketball office at 417-255-7993.  Complete game statistics can be found at http://stats.njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/2014-15/div1/teams/missouristateuniversitywestplains.