The Roadrunners fought back from a second half deficit to defeat the 10th ranked Iowa Western Reivers from Council Bluffs on Saturday, Jan. 30, at the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center on the Sedalia campus 96-89. SFCC (15-6) trailed 61-52 before rallying to pick up the victory. 

"Our energy was really good in the middle of the second half," said Roadrunners Head Coach Kevin Thomas. "Craig (McKenzie Jr.) and Asem (Johnson) really helped spark that. We had a lot of good contributions. Keari Brown played well when he came in. Hopefully, this will give our guys confidence and show them what can happen when they play together and get on the same page." 

Ronnie Rousseau III stole an inbounds pass from Iowa Western and made a layup to tie the game at 70. He was fouled in the act of shooting and went to the free-throw line to finish the old-fashioned three-point play to give his team a 71-70 advantage with seven minutes and 23 seconds remaining in the game. 

Johnson brought the SFCC crowd to its feet with a one-handed dunk while being fouled. He went to the free-throw line to complete the three-point play to put his team up 77-73 with five minutes and 15 seconds remaining in the contest. SFCC made the plays down the stretch to preserve the victory. 

"That was a big play," said Thomas. "We needed that. Duante (Stephens) was able to get the ball and throw it up to him. That was a great finish by Asem, I thought his play definitely sparked us down the stretch." 

Rousseau led five Roadrunners in double-figure scoring with 34 points. He made 11 of 16 shots from the field and four of six three-point shots. He also made eight of 11 free-throw attempts. Johnson contributed 16 points. Joshua Bailey pitched in with 14 points including knocking down four of nine three-point attempts. Clint Robinson added 13 points. Stephens registered 10 points. He also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds and dished out a team-high five assists. He led in steals with three. Robinson led in blocked shots with four. 

SFCC will begin a four-game road trip on Tuesday, Feb. 2, when they travel to Kansas City to take on Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. 

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics