Roadrunners Basketball Recap March 1 and 3

The Roadrunners fell 84-64 to North Central Missouri College. The NCMC Pirates are currently ranked 19^th in the NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball Rankings.

North Central led 42-29 at halftime in what proved to be an up-tempo contest. The Pirates out rebounded the Roadrunners 45-33.

Sophomore guard/forward Eman Eman of Québec, Canada, led SFCC in scoring with 18 points. Freshman guard/forward Lavric Mangala of Nashville, Tennessee, contributed 11 points and a team-high six rebounds. Freshman guard Chad Kratzer, Jr. of Allentown, Pennsylvania, chipped in with 10 points. Sophomore guard/forward Kohen Thompson of Memphis, Tennessee, dished out a team-leading five assists and registered a team-leading three steals.

"North Central is a really good team," said Roadrunners Basketball Head Coach Matt Brown. "They play good defense and play well together. I thought they did a good job of getting to the basket. We struggled to keep them out of the paint. They were the tougher, more physical team."

March 3 Mineral Area College at Park Hills

SFCC (5-8, 0-5 in Region 16, 0-5 in the MCCAC) fell 93-48 to the fourth-ranked Mineral Area College Cardinals. The game was part of the Region 16 and Missouri Community College Athletic Conference schedule. 

The game featured two lead changes and two ties. The Cardinals jumped out to an early 33-13 lead with less than seven minutes to go in the opening half and led 43-28 at halftime.

Thompson and Mangala tied for the team lead in scoring with 12 points each. They also dished out three assists each to tie for the team lead with freshman guard/forward Jadon Gilpin of Springfield. Gilpin pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Freshman guard Malek Mims of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, registered a team-high three steals.

"Mineral Area is a good team; that is why they are ranked number four in the country," said Brown. "Hopefully, this is a game that we can learn from and move forward. They are a team that is disciplined and good on the defensive end of the floor. They share the ball well."

David Rohrbach
SFCC Athletics