WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team is now 14-6 on the season after defeating Eastern Oklahoma State College, Wilburton, 78-73 Tuesday evening, Jan. 6, in Joe Paul Evans Arena at the West Plains Civic Center.
The contest proved to be a battle at the free throw line, as a total of 51 fouls were called which led to a combined 83 attempts from the charity stripe for the teams.
“We won this game at the free throw line,” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker said. “We kept attacking the paint and were able to take advantage of the fact that we were in the bonus so early.”
In the first half, the Grizzlies went to the line 19 times, hitting on 14 of those attempts for 73.7 percent. In the second half, they went to the line 33 times and made 26 of those attempts for 78.8 percent.
Sophomore guard Jameel Moore scored 17 of his team-leading 24 points from the free throw line, tying him with Arroyo Edwards for third place in the Grizzlies’ record book for most free throws in a game. Edwards hit his 17 tosses Jan. 18, 2014, against Three Rivers College of Poplar Bluff, Missouri.
Although the Grizzlies capitalized on their trips to the line, the number of fouls called affected the team’s offensive efforts. “This game simply didn’t have much flow, so it made it hard to get into a rhythm offensively,” the coach explained. “The second half took a long time to finish because both teams were attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line. Both teams played pretty well defensively, especially in the first half.”
Overall, the Grizzlies hit 17 of 58 shots from the field for 29.3 percent, four of 23 shots from 3-point range for 17.4 percent and 40 of 52 shots from the free throw line for 76.9 percent. They also recorded 46 rebounds, 11 assists, three steals, three blocks and 16 turnovers.
Following Moore on the scoreboard were sophomore guard Craig Eubanks with 14 points and freshman guard Dazhonetae Bennett with 11.
“One thing we did a much better job of this game is rebounding,” Walker said. “We need to continue to get better, but our forwards – Terrel Martin-Garcia, Ngor Barnaba, Desmond Rorie and Jahir Cabeza – had 33 rebounds between them.”
Eastern Oklahoma, meanwhile, hit 24 of 73 attempts from the field for 32.9 percent, five of 25 attempts from 3-point range for 20 percent and 20 of 31 free throw attempts for 64.5 percent. The team also recorded 36 rebounds, 12 assists, nine steals, one block and 10 turnovers. Leading scorers were Charles Shaw with 18 points, Oshey Washington 12 and Michael Love 10.
Walker said he would like to thank the City of West Plains for sponsoring the game, “specifically thanks to the civic center and its staff for helping us day in and day out.”
The Grizzlies will hit the road for their next contest, facing Region 16 rival Mineral Area College (MAC) at 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, in Park Hills, Missouri. Walker said the game time is different than what was originally scheduled, pointing out MAC officials requested the time change.
Walker also reminded fans to tune into the new “Above the Rim” streaming live video segment at 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 12, at www.ihigh.com/msuwestplains to learn the latest news on the Grizzlies as they continue their march through the 2014-15 season. Those who cannot tune in live can view the segment later in the archives of the website. Fans also may ask Walker questions through Twitter by using the hashtag #GrizzlyTalk, or they may e-mail questions to AboveTheRim@MissouriState.edu.
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.