Jan. 23 Missouri State University-West Plains at West Plains, Missouri

On Wednesday, Jan. 23 the State Fair Community College (SFCC) Roadrunners fell 81-74 in a Region 16 and Missouri Community College Athletic Conference game against the Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzlies. The game featured eight lead changes and two ties.

West Plains used a trapping pressure defense to force four turnovers in the opening minutes and jumped out to an early 9-2 advantage.

"Our turnovers were a big problem early in the game," said Roadrunners Basketball Head Coach Matt Brown. "We didn't have nearly as many turnovers in the second half. We shot the ball pretty well; the biggest difference was three-point shooting. We shot 25 percent and they shot 33 percent. Our shooting has been our Achilles' heel all year long."

SFCC battled back to tie the game at 37 at halftime. West Plains made the necessary plays down the stretch to secure the victory.

"We were able to make adjustments in the way we were attacking the pressure," said Brown. "I think we just settled down a little bit. To their credit, West Plains made some tough three-point shots.

Sophomore guard/forward Caleb Coleman of Hammond, Indiana led SFCC in scoring with 18 points. Freshman guard Damaria Franklin of Chicago, Illinois contributed 14 points. Sophomore guard Dewayne Charles of Kansas City, Missouri dished out a team-high five assists and pulled down a team-high six rebounds. Redshirt freshman guard Alonde LeGrand of Harlem, New York registered a team-high two blocked shots. Sophomore guard Josh Humphries of Tampa, Florida led his team in steals with two.

Jan. 26 Mineral Area College at Sedalia

The SFCC Roadrunners fell in a Region 16 and Missouri Community College Athletic Conference game to the Mineral Area Cardinals 82-67 on Saturday, Jan. 26 in Sedalia. Mineral jumped out to an early 14-2 lead to take control of the contest.

The Cardinals led 47-34 at halftime. Mineral Area forced 20 SFCC turnovers and turned those into 25 points.

SFCC (9-12, 0-4 in Region 16, 2-4 in the MCCAC) was led in scoring by sophomore guard Dru Smith of Kansas City, Missouri with 16 points. Coleman pitched in with 12 and pulled down a team-high six rebounds. LeGrand dished out a team-high eight assists. Charles led the team in steals with four. Freshman forward L.J. Bryan of Cheltenham, Maryland registered a team-high two blocked shots.

"That game was very disappointing," said Brown. "We did not play as a team tonight. We were very selfish."

SFCC will be home on Wednesday, Jan. 30 when they take on the Metropolitan Community College Wolves. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics