The 19th-ranked Roadrunners opened their portion of the McDonald's Classic Oct. 31 with an 83-72 loss to the Sunrise Christian Academy Prep Buffaloes from Wichita, Kansas, at the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center.

SFCC (0-1) found itself in a 31-15 hole in the first half. The 16-point deficit was the largest faced by either team in the contest. SFCC fought back to cut the deficit to 40-31 at halftime. The Roadrunners cut the deficit to five on a couple occasions in the second half but couldn't get closer. The Buffaloes emerged with an 83-72  victory.

"We struggled to take care of the ball and make shots tonight," said Roadrunners Head Coach Kevin Thomas. "A lot of our turnovers led to uncontested dunks for Sunrise Christian. When you give up that many easy baskets it's hard to overcome shooting the ball poorly."

Freshman forward Clint Robinson led three Roadrunners in double-figure scoring with 28 points, knocking down 14 of his 16 attempts from the free-throw line. Robinson also led the team in steals with three. Freshman guard Ra'Chaun Martin scored 23 points and a team-high three assists. Freshman wing Donnavan Hastings added 13 points and tied with freshman forward Selvedin Planincic for the team lead in rebounds with seven. It was the first collegiate game for every Roadrunner who played.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics Department