FREEPORT, Ill. – For 39 minutes Saturday evening, it looked as if the Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team would be making its second trip to the NJCAA Division I Men’s National Basketball Championship in Hutchinson, Kansas.
The Grizzlies (25-9) had held the lead of Saturday’s District 4 Championship game in Freeport, Illinois, for more than 39 minutes.
Then, Highland Community College’s sophomore point guard Shareef Smith hit a bucket with just 15 seconds left on the clock to put his Cougars on top for the first time in the game.
It was a 2-point deficit the Grizzlies couldn’t overcome, and it sent them home with a stinging 77-75 loss and unfulfilled dreams of a national championship appearance.
MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
“It was very disappointing. We led for 39 minutes, but never exteded the lead as we needed to. We allowed a good team to hang around on the road in a championship game. Then, anything can happen at the end,” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Chris Popp said.
“You want your sophomores, starters, all-region players, the guys you’ve counted on all year to have the ball when it counts,” he continued. “Our sophomores (Ricky Torres, Radshad Davis and Yannis Mendy) each had a shot to win or tie the game in the last two possessions. We had every opportunity to win that game. That’s all you can ask for. We just didn’t finish it.”
THE GAME
The Grizzlies took control of the game early and led 37-28 at halftime. The Cougars cut that lead to 4 points early in the second, but the Grizzlies came back to up their lead to 12 with four minutes remaining in the game.
“We didn’t come out well at the beginning of the second half,” Popp said. “But we got our feet under us again and extended the lead back to double digits. I felt like we were on the verge of blowing it open several times.”
Instead, the Grizzlies found themselves clawing to hold onto their advantage.
COSTLY TURNOVERS
“Turnovers were a big key, especially late,” the coach explained. “We tried to force plays and instead coughed up the ball.”
The Grizzlies had 17 turnovers to the Cougars’ 12.
“The timing of (the Cougars’) plays also made a difference,” Popp added. “Our unforced turnovers and the timing of their big plays allowed them to come back. Each time we were making a push, a turnover, a defensive breakdown, a late clock 3-pointer, it was very frustrating.”
It also didn’t help that the Grizzlies’s best 3-point shooters were cold, only hitting 1 of 11 attempts for the game.
“I hurt for these guys. It’s a special group of young men who have come so far from the first day of practice to now,” Popp said. “I think of our first scrimmage and laugh. We were terrible. They stayed, bought in, worked, stuck together, overcame a lot of injuries to key players and found a way to pull it together for a region championship. I especially feel for our sophomores. They’ve done a lot for the program. It’s been a heack of a year.”
SCORERS FOR THE GRIZZLIES
Three of those sophomores – Torres, Mendy and Davis – scored in double digits for the evening. Davis led all Grizzlies with 18 points, Mendy added 17, and Torres had 10 to go along with his 10 assists for another double-double performance.
Freshman forward Dontell Brown added another 15 points to the Grizzlies’ tally.
“Hopefully, the freshmen have seen what it takes and will come back more determined to make another run at Hutch next season,” Popp said.
For complete statistics of the Grizzlies’ games this season, visit http://stats.njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/2017-18/div1/teams/missouristateuniversitywestplains.
For more information about the Grizzly Basketball program, visit the team’s website or call 417-255-7991.
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