Roadrunners ride the three-point shot to victory

The Roadrunners basketball team hosted the Southeastern Community College Blackhawks from West Burlington, Iowa, on Nov. 15 in the Davis Center. SFCC (5-1) defeated Southeastern 86-76. 

Freshman guard Russell Baker splashed home a three-point shot with eight minutes and 25 seconds remaining in the first half to put SFCC ahead 24-19. SFCC made 14 of 26 three-point attempts, shooting a blistering 58.3% as a team. 

"We had a lot of guys step up and make plays tonight," said Head Coach Kevin Thomas. "We definitely needed that because we want a stronger sense of urgency from all the players. We had leads and let them back into the game, but I have to give Southeastern credit for that." 

The Roadrunners, using a zone defense during the last few Blackhawk possessions, took a 38-34 lead into halftime. 

"We were able to get some stops with our zone defense, which messed up their rhythm," said Thomas. "We had a difficult time guarding some of their ball screen offenses. It was definitely a good defensive change." 

Freshman guard Onteral Woodson Jr. knocked down a three-point shot to stretch the SFCC lead to 51-40 with 16 minutes and 18 seconds remaining in the game. But the Blackhawks refused to go away and trimmed the advantage to within one point around the nine-minute mark game. The Roadrunners made the plays down the stretch, including a pair of baskets from sophomore forward Amir Smith to help seal the victory. 

Sophomore guard Vonny Irvin led five Roadrunners in double figures with 20 points. He handed out a team-high six assists, led in steals with two and knocked down three three-point shots. Woodson and sophomore guard Corey Mendez contributed 16 points each. Woodson knocked down four of seven three-point attempts, and Mendez hit three three-point attempts. Freshman guard Russell Baker added 11 points. Smith registered a double-double with 11 points and a team-high 10 rebounds and led in blocked shots with six. 

SFCC will be back at home Nov. 18-19 to host the Stone Laser Imaging Classic. On Friday, the Roadrunners will take on Westminster College JV from Fulton. On Saturday, SFCC will play Kennedy-King College from Chicago. Tipoff both nights is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center. 

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics