Men’s Basketball Recaps Nov. 26-30

Nov. 26 St. Louis Community College at Sedalia, Missouri

The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Roadrunners picked up an 81-71 victory over the St. Louis Community College Archers on Tuesday, Nov. 26 inside the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center. The game was part of the Missouri Community College Athletic Conference schedule for both teams.

A three-point shot from sophomore guard Kailleb Walton-Blanden of Rapid City, South Dakota at the buzzer gave the Roadrunners a 40-32 lead going into the halftime locker room. The Archers trimmed the advantage to 45-40 with 16 minutes and 20 seconds remaining in the game. SFCC would have the answers in the second half to secure the victory.

Walton-Blanden led the Roadrunners in scoring with 21 points and a team-high three steals. Sophomore guard Damaria Franklin of Chicago, Illinois contributed 16 points. Sophomore forward Malcolm Townsel of Chicago, Illinois also added 16 points and a team-high five assists. Redshirt freshman forward Sarion McGee of Milwaukee, Wisconsin pulled down a team-high six rebounds and led the team in blocked shots with two.

"St. Louis is a good team that is much improved," said Roadrunners Head Coach Matt Brown. "I think this game will help us as we head into the weekend with Indian Hills and Highland. We were able to play some different guys, which will help our team all the way around. John Egbuta (freshman guard of Bronx, New York) played more minutes tonight. Michael Wright (freshman forward of Chicago, Illinois) came in and made a big shot for us."

Nov. 29 Indian Hills Community College at Moberly, Missouri

SFCC fell 77-48 to the 14^th ranked Indian Hills Community College Warriors in the opening round of the Moberly Classic. The game took place on Friday, Nov. 29 and featured six lead changes and two ties.

The Warriors led 28-21 at halftime. They stretched the lead in the second half to claim the victory.

"We trailed by 10 points with 10 minutes to go in the second half," said Brown. "We had a lull of about five minutes and they were able to blow the game open. Indian Hills is a very good team."

Townsel led SFCC in scoring with 12 points, a team-high three steals, and he also blocked a shot. Franklin pitched in with 10 points, dished out a team-high four assists, and he also pulled down a team-high six rebounds. SFCC struggled from the field, knocking down only 33.3% of their shots. The Roadrunners only made 12.5% of their three-point attempts and 50% of their free-throw attempts.

Nov. 30 Highland Community College-Illinois at Moberly, Missouri

SFCC (8-5, 2-0 in the MCCAC) closed out their portion of the Moberly Classic with a hard-fought 64-62 loss to Highland Community College-Illinois on Saturday, Nov. 30. The game featured eight ties and eight lead changes. The score was tied at 35 at halftime.

"We had a chance to win the game with some open shots, but we didn't make them," said Brown. "It was a back-and-forth game the entire way. They were able to make shots when they needed to and got some defensive stops. Highland is another good team."

Townsel led the team in scoring with 15 points and a team-high six assists. Franklin pitched in with 14 points and a team-high four steals. Walton-Blanden and Egbuta added 11 points apiece. Egbuta finished his double-double pulling down a team-high 10 rebounds.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics