Roadrunners pick up another Region 16 victory

Sedalia, Mo.-The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Roadrunners men's basketball team shook off a slow start to defeat Missouri State University-West Plains 103-86 on Saturday, Jan. 17 inside the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center. The game was part of the Region 16 schedule for both teams.

"I didn't like our energy for the start of the game," said Roadrunners head coach Jeremy Jackson. "We weren't giving up points, but we were giving up easy looks and that's not acceptable. We have to fly around. We also had a couple of loose turnovers to start the game."

SFCC (11-11, 2-2 in Region 16) turned up their energy and took a 13-2 lead with less than 16 minutes remaining until halftime.

"I loved how our guys responded all day," said Jackson. "I thought our top seven guys really came out focused and were locked in and wanted to build on Wednesday nights performance. I think we did a pretty good job of doing that. West Plains is a very well coached team."

 The Roadrunners held a 46-39 lead at halftime. SFCC went on a 14-4 run in the opening five minutes of the second half to put the game away.

The Roadrunners had four players who scored in double figures in the contest. Freshman wing JP Ndong of Germany and Senegal continue to score the ball well for SFCC. Ndong scored 22 points and tied for the team lead in steals with two. Sophomore forward Daniel Garza of Hammond, Ind. contributed 21 points. Freshman wing Da'Ron Hall of Nashville, Tenn. pitched in with 19 points and a team-high 11 rebounds to finish his double-double. Hall also led the team in blocked shots with three. Sophomore wing Jai'Kori Phillps of Pine Bluff, Ark. added 12 points. Freshman guard Chanler Joseph of West Palm Beach, Fla also registered a double-double with a team-high 10 assists to go along with 10 rebounds. Joseph also tied for the team lead in steals with two.

As a team, the Roadrunners shot a blistering 61.5% from the field to go along with 47.4% from beyond the three-point arc and 82.4% from the free-throw line.

The Roadrunners will now have a week off from game competition after back-to-back wins.

"We can walk away tonight knowing that we have a couple of days to recuperate and get a little bit more healthy and be ready to get back to practice on Monday or Tuesday," said Jackson. "I think our confidence level is going up. These wins have shown us that we can play with anyone in the country if we simplify things and don't hurt ourselves."

SFCC will return to action at Mineral Area College on Friday  Jan. 23 for another Region 16 contest. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics