Roadrunners fall in a pair of Region games

Jan. 19 Mineral Area College at Sedalia

The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Roadrunners lost 72-51 at home in a Region 16 and Missouri Community College Athletic Conference game to the 14^th-ranked Mineral Area College Cardinals on Wednesday night, Jan. 19.

SFCC trailed 29-24 at halftime. Mineral Area kept the pressure on in the second half outscoring SFCC 43-27. The Cardinals used a good defensive effort to force 19 SFCC turnovers.

"Mineral Area was really good defensively," said Roadrunners Head Coach Matt Brown. "We committed too many turnovers down the stretch of the game. I thought Cam Tweedy played really good tonight. I also thought Yame Butler played well. Our guard play has got to get better."

Tweedy recorded a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead SFCC in both categories. Butler added 11 points. Kingsley Ijeoma dished out a team-high five assists, led the team in blocked shots with two and led the team in steals with two.

Jan. 22 Three Rivers Community College at Poplar Bluff, Missouri

SFCC (12-9, 1-5 in Region 16) lost a hard-fought 75-67 Region 16 and Missouri Community College Athletic Conference contest to the Three Rivers Community College Raiders on Saturday, Jan. 22 in Poplar Bluff.

The Roadrunners trailed 13-4 with just over 13 minutes remaining in the first half. SFCC battled back to tie the game at 16 with eight minutes and 20 seconds left. The Raiders took a 34-29 lead into halftime.

SFCC came out of the locker room on fire and tied the game at 38 with 16 minutes and 40 seconds remaining in the game. The Roadrunners took a 46-42 lead with less than 11 minutes remaining. Three Rivers stormed back to take a 60-54 lead with under six minutes remaining. Three Rivers made the plays down the stretch to hold off SFCC and emerged victorious.

"I thought we played pretty good," said Brown. "We were able to change defenses and did a good job of rebounding. Three Rivers was able to make some big plays down the stretch and we didn't. We turned the ball over too many times."

Tweedy put together another nice game, just missing another double-double with 18 points and eight rebounds to lead the team in both categories. Will Wilson contributed 17 points and a team-high two blocked shots. Butler added 12 points and a team-high five assists. Ijeoma pitched in with 10 points. Chad Kratzer Jr., Tweedy, Butler, and Wilson all registered two steals to tie for the team lead in that category.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics