Men’s Basketball Recap Jan. 8-11

Jan. 8 Graceland University junior varsity at Sedalia

The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Roadrunners picked up a 97-52 home victory over the Graceland University Yellowjackets from Lamoni, Iowa. The win was the Roadrunners' first following the Christmas break on Tuesday, Jan. 8 inside the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center.

SFCC opened the game with a 21-8 spurt and never looked back. The Roadrunners forced 28 Graceland turnovers, converting them into 38 points in the win.

"You always want to be able to knock the rust off after being away from game action for a month," said Roadrunners Head Coach Matt Brown. "You never know what to expect in a game like this. Last year I think we only won by six points in our first game after break, but I thought our assist to turnover ratio was pretty good and we did a better job of shooting free throws in the second half."

Freshman wing Malcolm Townsel (Evanston, Illinois) led five Roadrunners in double-figure scoring with 21 points. Sophomore guard Dru Smith (Kansas City, Missouri) contributed 20 points; Sophomore guard/forward Caleb Coleman (Hammond, Indiana) had 16 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds; Redshirt freshman guard Alonde LeGrand (Harlem, New York) added 13 points ( tied for the team lead in steals with freshman guard Damaria Franklin with four; Franklin also scored 12 points and dished out a team-high nine assists. LeGrand and Franklin tied for the team lead in blocked shots with two.

Jan. 11 Three Rivers Community College at Sedalia

SFCC (8-9, 0-1 in Region 16, 2-1 in the MCCAC) opened Region 16 play with a heartbreaking 97-95 loss in double overtime on Saturday, Jan. 12 against the Three Rivers Community College Raiders from Poplar Bluff. The contest featured 24 lead changes and 21 ties.

SFCC led 38-37 at halftime, but the Raiders tied the game at 79 at the end of regulation. Both teams scored seven points in the first overtime to force another overtime where Three Rivers made just enough plays to emerge the victor.

"I thought our guys did a good job in the game," said Brown. "We shot 62% from the free-throw line and Three Rivers shot 80%, that was a big difference in the game. Three Rivers made some big shots. The game really came down to defensive rebounding and their ability to make free throws. You have to make your free throws at home. Now we have to go on the road and try to steal a game somewhere else."

Coleman led the Roadrunners in scoring with 26 points. He also tied for the team lead in steals with two with sophomore guard Dewayne Charles (Kansas City, Missouri) and Smith. Smith also registered 19 points and a team-high nine assists. Townsel contributed 18 points. Franklin added 16 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Charles pitched in with 13 points.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics