November 8 Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College at Sedalia
The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Roadrunners lost 73-67 to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) on Tuesday, November 8 inside the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center in Sedalia. The back-and-forth contest featured 12 lead changes and 11 ties.
NEO jumped out early to a 11-4 lead, before SFCC fought back to trim the deficit to 38-37 at halftime. NEO used a full-court trapping pressure defense for most of the game to pick up the tempo and made just enough plays down the stretch to win.
"We had 12 assists and 16 turnovers as a team, you can't win that way, said Roadrunners Head Coach Matt Brown. "We shot 39% from the field and 28% from beyond the three-point arc. We did better from the free-throw line, but we had too many turnovers. We have to be able to step up and get stops on the defensive end when the game gets close. We are making progress but, we're still not where we need to be."
Freshman guard Tazir Smith led three Roadrunners with 17 points and tied for team lead in steals with two. Sophomore guard Jules Bikoy scored 16 points. Sophomore wing/forward Dalton Gayman added 14 points and nine rebounds. Abou Wague recorded nine rebounds and two steals.
November 11 Triton College at Poplar Bluff, Missouri
SFCC dropped a 76-64 game to 10th ranked Triton College on Friday afternoon, November 11 in the first game for SFCC of the Missouri-Iowa Challenge at Poplar Bluff. Triton led 45-38 at halftime and outscored SFCC 31-26 in the second half.
Smith led SFCC in scoring with 19 points. Bikoy scored 12 points. Gayman recorded a team-high eight rebounds. Gayman, freshman guard Elijah Bernstein, and Wague all tied for the team lead in assists with two. Wague also led the team in steals with two.
November 12 Indian Hills Community College at Poplar Bluff, Missouri
SFCC (1-5) lost an 81-59 game to fifth-ranked Indian Hills Community College on Saturday, November 12 to close their portion of the Missouri-Iowa Challenge. The game featured two lead changes and two ties.
Indian Hills led the contest 37-32 at halftime and outscored SFCC 49-22 in the second half.
Smith led SFCC in scoring with 19 points and 10 rebounds to complete his double-double. Freshman guard Devon Ellis chipped in 15 points and tied for the team lead in assists with two, along with Bikoy and freshman guard Trey Jones. Jones led the team in steals with three. Wague registered a team-high two blocked shots.
David Rohrbach
SFCC Athletics