SEDALIA, Mo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team will go into this weekend’s Holiday Inn Express Grizzly Tip-Off Classic with a 2-0 record after their season-opening performance Friday and Saturday, Oct. 30 and 31, at the McDonald’s Classic hosted by State Fair Community College in Sedalia.
The Grizzlies defeated Butler Community College, El Dorado, Kansas, 79-77 Friday and Link Year Prep, Branson, 85-74 on Saturday. “It is certainly good to be 2-0, but we have a lot we can get better at,” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker said. “The good news is that we’ve got some time to make strides going into our opening weekend at home.”
In this weekend’s Grizzly Tip-Off Classic, the Grizzlies will face Graceland University JV, Lamoni, Iowa, at 7 p.m. Friday and College of Faith, West Memphis, Arkansas, at 7 p.m. Saturday. State Fair will face College of Faith at 5 p.m. Friday and Graceland JV at 5 p.m. Saturday. “We hope to see a lot of Grizzly fans in Joe Paul Evans Arena Friday for Winona night,” Walker said.
Last Friday’s game against Butler was a good one to reveal the areas the Grizzlies need to improve, Walker said. “This game was a tough one, especially for the first one out of the gate. I felt it was a really good game for both teams to build on and learn from. Butler is good and will be good in its league when the time comes. They switch every ball screen, and our guys handled that very well. I felt like we out-executed them down the stretch to pull away. I was very proud of our guys, for as inexperienced as they are, they did what they needed in the last few minutes to get the win.”
As a team, the Grizzlies hit 30 of 56 shots from the field for 54 percent, six of 16 attempts from 3-point range for 38 percent and 13 of 24 free throw attempts for 54 percent. They also recorded 31 rebounds, 16 assists, 19 turnovers, seven steals and three blocks.
Statistical leaders were freshman forward Devonte Campbell with 19 points, five rebounds, two blocks and 3 steals; sophomore forward Ngor Barnaba with 16 points and five rebounds; sophomore forward Terrel Martin-Garcia with 14 points, 14 rebounds and one assist; and freshman guard Vonny Irvin with 10 points, two rebounds and three assists.
Butler hit 27 of 58 shots from the field for 47 percent, six of 17 3-point attempts for 35 percent, and 17 of 26 free throw attempts for 65 percent. The team also recorded 33 rebounds, 12 assists, 16 turnovers and seven steals.
Statistical leaders were Chris Howell with 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists; Derrick Byrd with 13 points; Jacolby Harris with 13 points and three rebounds; and Caelen Neal with 12 points and three rebounds. “I do want to send my condolences to Chris Howell of Butler. It was discovered after the game that he injured his foot and will be out for awhile,” Walker said.
Saturday’s game against Link Year Prep was a dangerous one, Walker said, because the team has some “talented guys who can really score.
“Without a doubt, our offense had better flow in this game than it did in the first. I felt like we only took three shots too early in the possession. Overall, we kept the ball moving and created good shots for each other,” the coach said. “Our defense was good in spurts, but we didn’t maintain those spurts as long as we needed to so that we could put them away. Our rebounding, however, was better on both ends of the court in this game.”
The Grizzlies hit 33 of 67 shots from the field for 49 percent, six of 23 shots from 3-point range for 26 percent and 13 of 17 free throw attempts for 68 percent. They also recorded 36 rebounds, 14 assists, 17 turnovers and 11 steals.
Statistical leaders were Campbell with 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals; Barnaba with 15 points and seven rebounds; Martin-Garcia with 15 points and 10 rebounds; freshman guard Jaelin Sandford with 11 points, four assists and two rebounds; and freshman forward Shondell Jackson with 10 points, four rebounds and one assist.
Link Year Prep hit 27 of 56 shots from the field for 49 percent, 10 of 25 shots from 3-point range for 40 percent and 10 of 15 free throw attempts for 67 percent. They also had 29 rebounds, 13 assists, 26 turnovers, six steals and three blocks. Statistical leaders were Jordan Grant with 23 points and four assists; Calvin Goldsmith with 16 points, 11 rebounds and four assists; and DeWayne Owens with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
For more information about the Grizzly Basketball program, visit the team’s website or call the Grizzly Basketball office at 417-255-7993. Complete game statistics can be found at this website.