WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team will face its toughest test of the young season Wednesday evening when they host 13th ranked Neosho County Community College from Chanute, Kansas, at 7 p.m. in Joe Paul Evans Arena at the West Plains Civic Center.
The Panthers are coming off an appearance in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I Men’s National Basketball Championship Tournament last season and have reloaded with a group of talented, long and athletic players, Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Chris Popp said.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how our guys approach this game,” the coach said. “Keeping the ball in front of us and rebounding will be our two biggest challenges against Neosho. If we can do that, I like our chances.”
The Grizzlies will enter the contest with a 2-1 record after defeating Murray State College, Tishomingo, Oklahoma, 82-71 and College of Faith Prep Academy, West Memphis, Arkansas, 113-79 this past weekend at the State Fair Community College Classic in Sedalia.
“It was a good weekend for our team as far as growth. This group has shown the ability to focus and respond when challenged,” Popp said. “Murray State is a solid team, and with the specific things they do offensively, it gave us a chance to do some things defensively.”
The Grizzlies fought hard to capture the win against Murray on Friday. Down early, they battled back to take a 44-40 lead into the halftime break, then began to pull away in the second half, going up by as much as 23 points. “It was the first time we’ve had to hold onto a lead, being up 23 against Murray in the second half. We got comfortable, and we let off the gas pedal a little bit. But our guys found a way to get it done. Hopefully, this was a learning experience for us,” the coach said.
Although the score doesn’t show it, College of Faith Prep also provided a challenge for the Grizzlies. Having taken the host team to a 7-point differential the night before, Faith Prep proved they shouldn’t be overlooked.
“These prep schools have knocked off some very good junior college teams already this season,” Popp said. “Faith Prep is a quick, athletic team, and they pushed us early on. They went into a zone. It was the first time we have seen that this year, so it took some time to adjust, but once again, our guys figured it out and did what they needed to do.”
Freshman guard Darnell Butler came off the bench and led the Grizzlies in scoring in both games. “Darnell came up big this weekend. He had 18 points and five rebounds the first night and 23 points and six rebounds the next night,” Popp said. “He’s been able to score from the minute he stepped on campus, but he’s really come a long way defensively and on the glass.”
Redshirt freshman forward Stefan Lakic also had a steady performance over the weekend, scoring 17 points against Murray State and 16 against Faith Prep. His 11 rebounds against Faith gave him a double-double for the game. “He’s consistently been one of our leaders so far this season,” Popp said.
The coach also praised the play of redshirt freshman point guard Ricky Torres, who dished out a total of 16 assists while recording only four turnovers during the tournament. He also recorded a total of 27 points. “Ricky is having a great early stretch. A 4-to-1 ratio in assists to turnovers is pretty good,” Popp said.
Sophomore guard Lane Duncan also had a great weekend, Popp said, pointing out his 16 total rebounds in the two games and his five steals against Murray. “He really crashed the glass for us this weekend,” the coach said.
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.