Roadrunners split pair of home contests

January 31 Metropolitan Community College in Sedalia

The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Roadrunners defeated the Metropolitan Community College Wolves 84-80 at home Wednesday, January 31 in Sedalia.

SFCC got out to a 23-17 lead with 11 minutes and 48 seconds remaining in the opening half. Metropolitan Community College cut the lead to 32-30 with about five minutes remaining until halftime. SFCC took a 42-39 lead into halftime.

The Roadrunners got their offense going early in the second half to take a 55-39 lead with about 15 minutes remaining in the contest.

"I think sometimes we take a team a little lightly," said Roadrunners Head Coach Matt Brown. "Tonight, we got exactly what we deserved. I thought we played a lot better in the second half. I give credit to Metropolitan Community College. They did not stop once we got a 20-point lead, we relaxed a little bit. Alex (Gunnels) made a big shot for us tonight."

Metropolitan Community College refused to go away, they cut the advantage to 73-66 with about six minutes remaining in the contest. The Wolves fought all the way back to take a one-point lead with less than a minute left in regulation.

Gunnels came to the rescue. Gunnels knocked down a huge three-point basket to give his team a two-point advantage with about 20 seconds remaining in regulation. SFCC got a defensive stop on the other end of the floor and made their free throws to escape with a victory.

SFCC was led in scoring by sophomore forward Cliff Barrow with 26 points, including five of nine from beyond the three-point arc. Gunnels contributed 16 points and led the team with five assists and three steals. Freshman guard Steven Samuels added 11 points. Freshman forward Isaiah Jackson pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds in the game.

February 3 Mineral Area College at Sedalia

SFCC (9-14, 2-4 in Region 16) lost a hard-fought 59-42 game to the second ranked Mineral Area College Cardinals on Saturday, February 3 inside the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center in Sedalia. The game which was played for a large crowd was also part of the Missouri Community College Athletic Conference schedule for both teams.

SFCC got off to a great start in the game. The Roadrunners jumped out to an 11-1 lead with 15 minutes and 45 seconds remaining until halftime. The Cardinals turned up their full-court pressure defense to cut the SFCC advantage to 14-6 with less than 15 minutes remaining.

The Cardinals led the game 22-20 at halftime. Mineral Area led the contest 43-37 with less than nine minutes remaining in the contest. Mineral Area made the plays down the stretch of the second half to extend their advantage and secure the victory the victory.

As a team, SFCC knocked down 10 of 28 three-point shots. Gunnels led the team with 13 points and a team-high four steals. Barrow contributed 11 points and three three-point field goals. Jackson recorded a team-high six rebounds. Sophomore guard Elijah Edwards had a team-high three assists. Freshman forward Thomas Diew registered a team-high two blocked shots.

"Mineral Area is a very good team," said Brown. "They have a chance to win a national championship, for 30 minutes it was a seven-point game. I thought our defense was excellent. We wanted to make this a low possession game. It was a good effort. You cannot have a five-minute lull against a quality team like that. Give them credit, you can't give them any space."

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics