The Roadrunners had their first opportunity to scrimmage against other teams Oct. 9-10 at the Mike Mitchell Dallas Blowout in Texas. They won two of the five games they played against different opponents.
The format featured two 24-minute running clock halves.
SFCC took on the Trinity Valley Community College Cardinals from Athens, Texas, in its opening game.
"Trinity Valley was a talented team with a lot of long athletes," said Roadrunners Head Coach Kevin Thomas. "I thought we played harder than they did. That game came down to execution. They ran a full-court zone defense back into a half court zone defense. We hadn't worked on attacking any zone defense yet, so it was a learning experience. Our guys played hard and competed well."
SFCC led 21-18 at halftime. Trinity Valley fought back in the second half to emerge with a 49-40 victory. Sophomore forward Clint Robinson registered a double double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, leading the team in both categories. He also registered a team-high two blocked shots. Sophomore guard Ronnie Rousseau III contributed 11 points. Freshman guard Craig McKenzie Jr. added eight points and dished out a team-high two assists. Freshman guard Duante Stephens pitched in with six points.
The Roadrunners then took on the Blinn College Buccaneers from Brenham, Texas. SFCC built a 38-18 lead early in the second half. Blinn was able to chip away at SFCC's advantage in the second half, but the Roadrunners held on for a 56-46 victory.
Robinson led the Roadrunners in scoring with 19 points. Rousseau contributed 11 points and dished out a team-high four assists. Sophomore guard Joshua Bailey and McKenzie added seven points each. McKenzie pulled down a team-high six rebounds.
SFCC played the Midland College Chaparrals from Midland, Texas, in its third and final contest on Friday. SFCC fell to Midland by a score of 51-43.
"We got off to a really slow start," said Thomas. "We were down 15 points at halftime. Our guys fought hard. We were able to cut the deficit to four or five points, but we couldn't finish off the comeback. Our energy was low in the first half, but in the second half our defensive pressure was better. We were able to get out in transition and get some easy baskets."
Rousseau led in scoring with 17 points and dished out two assists. Freshman guard Willie Jimerson Jr. contributed 14 points. Robinson pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. McKenzie also dished out a pair of assists. Robinson and McKenzie tied for the team lead in steals with three.
SFCC began day two with a game against Northwest Kansas Technical College from Goodland, Kansas. SFCC defeated the Mavericks 47-41.
"Clint was dominant on the inside," said Thomas "We did a good job of getting him the ball. Ronnie was able to make some shots and had a good first half. In the second half we let them back in the game, but we were still able to win."
Jimerson led in scoring with 16 points, shooting seven of eight from the field. Robinson pulled down a team-high five rebounds and registered a team-high three blocked shots.
The Roadrunners fell by a score of 57-49 in their final game against the Hutchinson Community College Blue Dragons from Hutchinson, Kansas.
"We did not play well at all," said Thomas. "We had a hard time executing. We were able to get a run going at the end of the second half to get within five points of them, but we couldn't finish the comeback."
Robinson led in scoring with 14 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Rousseau contributed 10 points and tied Jimerson for the team lead in assists with three. Jimerson also contributed a team-high two steals. Robinson and sophomore wing Ryan Surface tied for the team lead in blocked shots with two.
"It was good for us to play some strong competition," said Thomas. "We got a chance to see how we're playing. At times we competed at a high level, so hopefully our guys will see that if we work and pay attention to details we have a chance to have a really good year."
SFCC will return to scrimmage action Oct.18 when the Roadrunners participate in the Johnson County Jamboree. SFCC will take on Fort Scott Community College, Des Moines Area Community College and Neosho County Community College.
David Rohrbach
SFCC Athletics