Roadrunners win on faculty and staff appreciation night

Sedalia, Mo. The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Roadrunners men's basketball team picked up their third consecutive win with an 83-72 victory against Fort Scott Community College inside the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center on Wednesday night, Nov. 19 in Sedalia, Mo.

SFCC (6-4) jumped out to an early 13-2 lead. Fort Scott fought back to take a 44-41 lead into halftime.

"I thought we let off of the gas," said Roadrunners head coach Jeremy Jackson. I thought we got a little comfortable and maybe didn't think they were as good as they were supposed to be. They showed us that they are a really good team. They are fast in transition. They are very well coached."

At halftime of the contest, the Lady Roadrunners basketball team and the SFCC Spirit Squad honored SFCC faculty and staff members in a ceremony on the court.

Ater halftime, the Roadrunners took a 54-52 lead with less than 15 minutes to go in regulation. Fort Scott took a two-point advantage with about 12 minutes remaining. SFCC took a 70-65 advantage with less than four minutes remaining. The Roadrunners made the plays in the final minutes to secure the win.

Freshman guard Nate Wilder led SFCC in scoring with 22 points. Wilder dished out a team-high five assists. Sophomore guard Gavin Q Murphy contributed 14 points. Sophomore forward Ibraheem Sylla pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Sophomore wing Jai'Kori Phillps registered a team-high two steals. Sophomore forward Daniel Garza led the team in blocked shots with three.

"We emphasized defense in the locker room at halftime," said Jackson. "I think at halftime they were shooting 51%. I know that they didn't shoot 51% in second half. We played 10 games in 17 days. I am proud of the resilience that our team has shown. We are creating and establishing the culture that we want to have here. I am very proud of our program overall. My assistant coaches are doing a great job."

The Roadrunners will return to action on Friday, Nov. 21 with a game against Missouri Valley College Junior Varsity. Tipoff from the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics