Roadrunners fall at Three Rivers in the Region 16 Semifinal round

Poplar Bluff, Mo.-The third-seeded State Fair Community College (SFCC) Roadrunners men's basketball team saw their season come to an end with a hard-fought 95-87 loss to the second-seeded Three Rivers College on Thursday, March 5 in Poplar Bluff, Mo. The game featured 10 ties and 20 lead changes. SFCC came in the contest on four-game winning streak.

SFCC (16-15) led the game 11-10 with less than 16 minutes remaining in the opening half. SFCC pushed the advantage to 17-11 with 13 minutes and 22 seconds remaining.

Three Rivers led 33-32 with less than six minutes to go.

SFCC took the lead back courtesy of a three-point shot from sophomore guard Gavin Q Murphy of Calabasas, Calif. as the clock expired in the first half to give a 45-43 lead at halftime.

Three Rivers took the lead back on their opening possession of the second half. The lead continued to go back-and-forth throughout the second half.

Three Rivers led 71-70 with less than eight minutes to go in the game. Three Rivers stretched the advantage to 81-76 with less than five minutes remaining.

SFCC trimmed the lead to 90-85 with less than two minutes remaining courtesy of an old-fashioned three-point play from freshman guard Nate Wilder of East Stroudsburg, Pa.

Three Rivers made the plays in the final moments to secure the victory.

The Roadrunners had four players who scored in double figures in the game. Freshman guard/wing Andin Ashford of Wilkesboro, N.C. led the team in scoring with 22 points, dished out a team-high six assists, and led the team in steals with five. Murphy contributed 20 points including six made three-point shots. Freshman wing JP Ndong of Germany/Senegal chipped in with 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds Wilder added 14 points. Sophomore forward Daniel Garza of Hammond, Ind. led the team in blocked shots with three.

"I'm proud of the way our guys battled," said Roadrunners head coach Jeremy Jackson. "We gave everything we had. Our guys played hard and we played together. I think we were playing our best basketball at the end of the season. We just had some untimely turnovers and missed free throws. I think overall the season was a success. We accomplished some things that hadn't been done here in a while, like not having to play the play in game in the Region Tournament."

David Rohrbach

 SFCC Athletics