Roadrunners advance to Region 16 tournament championship game

The third-seeded Roadrunners erased a 14-point second half deficit to defeat the second-seeded and 18th ranked Mineral Area College Cardinals from Park Hills 82-76. The game was part of the semifinal round of the Region 16 Men's Division I Basketball Championship Tournament on Thursday evening, Feb. 25, at the Ozark Christian College Multipurpose Building. 

The game featured 10 lead changes and nine ties. SFCC (19-9) took a 70-69 advantage courtesy of a pair of free throws from freshman guard Willie Jimerson Jr. SFCC made the plays in the final two minutes to emerge with the hard-fought victory. 

"It looked like our season was about to come to an end," said Roadrunners Head Coach Kevin Thomas. "Our guys did a good job of battling their way back into the game; they kept chipping away. They didn't want their season to be over. I'm glad to see that we still have some fight left in us." 

Sophomore guard Ronnie Rousseau III led three Roadrunners in double-figure scoring with 26 points, including 12 of 16 from the free-throw line. He also registered a team-high two steals and dished out four assists. Jimerson just missed a triple-double with 13 points, a team-high 12 rebounds and a team-high eight assists. Freshman guard Craig McKenzie Jr. added 11 points. Sophomore forward Clint Robinson recorded a team-high three blocked shots. 

Coach Thomas was pleased with the contributions from a lot of players. 

"Willie was great on the glass," said Thomas. "He got his teammates involved. Josh (Bailey) made some shots late to help us. Clint did some good things on the glass. Craig McKenzie Jr.'s effort off of the bench was good for us. Asem (Johnson) played really well when he was in the game." 

SFCC will take on the fourth-seeded Moberly Area Community College Greyhounds in the championship game on Saturday, Feb. 27. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. from the Ozark Christian College Multipurpose Building in Joplin.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics