The Roadrunners lost to the Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzlies 82-56 in the opening round of the Region 16 tournament Feb. 24 in West Plains, Missouri.  

The Grizzlies led 9-6 with about 17 minutes remaining in the opening half. SFCC (4-24) tied the game at nine on a three-point shot by freshman forward Selvedin Planincic. The Grizzlies went on a 7-0 run to take a 16-9 lead and led 51-24 at halftime. The Roadrunners outscored West Plains 32-31 in the second half but couldn't overcome the early deficit.

"Our guys played really hard," said Roadrunners Head Coach Kevin Thomas. "I was very proud of them after the game. They got on the floor after loose balls and chased down some loose rebounds. We actually out rebounded West Plains 48-35. Our downfall was our turnovers and some of the easy transition baskets West Plains was able to get. At the end of the day, their overall talent and depth wore us out."

Two SFCC players had double doubles for the game. Sophomore forward Clint Robinson led in scoring with 28 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Planincic contributed 18 points, pulled down a team-high 16 rebounds and a team-high two blocked shots. Freshman guard Trenton Cooper dished out a team-high five assists and led the team in steals with two.  

"Our post players played really well," said Thomas. "Hopefully those two guys will be big contributors to our team next year. They need to keep improving, and we hope to surround them with guards who can make them better as well."

Thomas was pleased with his team's determination to stick together throughout the season.

"I was very proud of our guys, especially those who came in at semester," said Thomas. "They came, worked really hard and did everything we asked of them. They definitely improved as the semester went on. The players who were holdovers from the first semester could have quit at any point, but they stuck out the year and continued to improve and to play their best."

David Rohrbach
SFCC Athletics