Roadrunners Go Undefeated In Final Preseason Scrimmage

The Roadrunners won all three of their scrimmages Oct. 24 in the John Wood Jamboree in Quincy, Ill. The format for the scrimmage was two 20-minute running clock halves with the clock stopping only in the last minute of the second half.

SFCC took on the host John Wood Community College Trail Blazers in the first scrimmage. SFCC led 26-11 at halftime and won the game 44-31.

"We got off to a quick start against John Wood," said Roadrunners Head Coach Kevin Thomas. "Our guys played well. We were able to get some stops on the defensive end and we rebounded the ball well. We scored pretty easily in the first game. We got a lot of good play out of a lot of different guys."

Freshman forward Keari Brown led in scoring with 15 points on six of seven from the field. Freshman guards William Jones and Duante Stephens added six points each. Sophomore forward Clint Robinson pulled down a team-high four rebounds. Freshman guard Asem Johnson, Jones and sophomore guard Joshua Bailey tied for the team lead in assists with two. Stephens registered a team-high three steals.

In their second scrimmage, SFCC took on the Carl Sandburg College Chargers from Galesburg, Illinois. SFCC led 25-22 at halftime and emerged with a 48-44 victory.

"We got off to a slow start against Carl Sandburg," said Thomas. "They came out in a zone and that really bothered us. In the second half we did a much better job of picking it apart and making the right plays. Ryan Surface hit a big three-point shot with about a minute to go that gave us the lead for good."

Stephens led SFCC in scoring with 12 points and pulled down a team-high six rebounds. Brown dished out a team-high three assists. Robinson tied for the team lead in blocked shots and steals with two each. Stephens also registered two blocked shots and Jones tied for the team lead in steals with two.

In their final scrimmage, SFCC took on the Hannibal-LaGrange University Trojans from Hannibal, Missouri. The Trojans led 28-23 at halftime but SFCC fought back to earn a 50-45 victory. The game featured four lead changes and four ties.

"We had a slow start again in the final scrimmage," said Thomas. "Josh Bailey got hot late in the game and hit about four three-point shots in the last six or seven minutes to give us the lead. We were able to hold on at the end."

Bailey led the scoring with 17 points. Stephens added 10 points. Johnson pulled down a team-high four rebounds. Freshman guard Craig McKenzie Jr. dished out a team-high four assists. Bailey registered a team-high three steals and Robinson led in blocked shots with two.

The Roadrunners open their regular season Oct. 30 against Link Year Prep from Branson in the McDonald's Classic. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics