The Roadrunners won their first game and lost their second Nov. 20-21 at the Coffeyville Classic in Coffeyville, Kansas. The Roadrunners (8-1) defeated the Cowley County Community College Tigers from Arkansas City, Kansas, 93-81 on Friday but saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end Saturday when they fell to the host and ninth-ranked Coffeyville Community College Red Ravens 106-99 in overtime.
SFCC shot a blistering 72 percent from the field against Cowley in the opening half and took a 55-29 lead into halftime. The Tigers fought back in the second half outscoring SFCC 52-38, but the Roadrunners held on for the victory.
"We got off to a good start against Cowley," said Roadrunners Head Coach Kevin Thomas. "We played solid defense. We did a good job of executing and got out to a sizable lead. Cowley is a good team. It's always hard to maintain a lead against a good team, because we know they're going to make a run. Cowley played well in the second half."
Freshman guard Willie Jimerson Jr. led three Roadrunners in double-figure scoring with 24 points. He also led the team in rebounds with nine, dished out a team-high seven assists and led in steals with five to finish an outstanding all-around game. Sophomore guard Ronnie Rousseau III contributed 23 points. Freshman guard Asem Johnson added 21 points on nine of 10 shooting from the field. Sophomore forward Clint Robinson registered a team-leading two blocked shots.
On Saturday, Coffeyville led 45-32 at halftime. The Roadrunners climbed back into the contest. They tied the score at 88 to force overtime courtesy of a layup and a defensive stop.
"We did a much better job defending ball screens," said Thomas. "We also did a better job of contesting shots and rebounding the ball in the second half."
The Red Ravens outscored SFCC 18-11 in overtime to secure the win. Rousseau led four Roadrunners in double-figure scoring with 43 points. He made 14 of 22 shots from the field and 10 of 12 shots from the free-throw line. He also knocked down five three-point shots and registered a team-leading three steals. Sophomore guard Joshua Bailey contributed 14 points. Jimerson registered a double double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. He led the team in assists with six. Robinson pitched in with another double double with 11 points and 12 rebounds and registered a team-high three blocked shots.
"Obviously, we wanted to come away from the weekend with two wins, but I'm hoping this loss will wake us up a little," said Thomas. "We have definitely improved since the beginning of the year, but we have to keep working."
SFCC will open Missouri Community College Athletic Conference play at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 24 when the Roadrunners take on the St. Louis Community College Archers in St. Louis.
David Rohrbach
SFCC Athletics