Roadrunners game recaps for Jan. 24 and 27

Jan. 24, Missouri State University-West Plains at Sedalia

The Roadrunners upset the 15th-ranked Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzlies 94-83 in a  Region 16 and Missouri Community College Athletic Conference game.  The victory was the second consecutive win over a nationally ranked opponent for SFCC.

The game was tied at 45 at halftime. SFCC took a three-point lead with less than 11 minutes remaining in the game and held on for the win.

 
"We played with eight guys again," said Head Coach Matt Brown. "We had guys in some different positions than they've been in all year long. The men just did what we asked of them. We had some matchup problems, but the team just kept competing. It was a great win for our team … we didn't turn the ball over down the stretch, and we made our free throws."

 
Freshman guard Tyreek Scott-Grayson led six Roadrunners in double-figure scoring with 21 points. He finished his double-double pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds and led the team in steals with three. Sophomore guard Andre (A.J.) Walker and freshman guard Tim Leavell contributed 16 points each. Walker dished out a team-high seven assists. Freshman guard Dominic Fragola added 12 points. Freshman guard Dru Smith pitched in 11 points. Freshman guard/forward Caleb Coleman registered 10. Sophomore center Isaac Bassey led the team in blocked shots with two.

Jan. 27 Mineral Area College at Park Hills, Missouri

The Roadrunners hit the road for the first time in Region 16 play. SFCC (16-5, 2-2 in Region 16, 4-2 in the MCCAC) dropped a hard-fought 76-72 decision to Mineral Area College. The game featured 17 lead changes and 11 ties.

SFCC led 35-31 at halftime, Mineral Area fought back to take a 55-53 lead with about 10 minutes remaining in the game. SFCC took a two-point lead with about five minutes remaining, but in the waning minutes, Mineral Area pulled ahead by five points. The Roadrunners refused to go away and cut the lead to two points with 35 seconds left on the clock. However, the Cardinals made the plays in the final moments to secure the victory.

 
"This was probably one of our best games of the season," said Brown. "We only dressed seven guys. I was proud of our guys. At some points in the game, we had four guards in the lineup, and we were in a position to win the game. I was as proud of our effort in this game as I have been in any game this year."

 
Smith led four Roadrunners in double-figure scoring with 15 points and dished out a team-high six assists. Fragola contributed 13 points. Coleman and Bassey added 10 points each. Coleman pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. Walker registered a team-high two steals. SFCC made all 13 of the free throw attempts in the game.

 
SFCC will travel to Kansas City on Jan. 30 to take on the Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley Scouts. Tipoff is 7 p.m.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics