The Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) Grizzly Basketball team will enter the upcoming NJCAA Region 16 Championship Basketball Tournament as the third seed after dropping their final two games of the regular season.
The Grizzlies, 13-9 over all and 5-6 in region play, will face second seeded Moberly Area Community College (15-7, 7-5) at 5 p.m. Friday in the region semifinals at Mineral Area College (MAC) in Park Hills.
The second-ranked MAC Cardinals, who went 20-0 this season, will play the winner of Tuesday night’s tournament play-in game at 7 p.m. Friday at Park Hills.
Tuesday’s play-in game between fourth seeded Three Rivers College (10-11, 3-9) and fifth seeded State Fair Community College (8-14, 3-9) will take place in Poplar Bluff.
The championship game is set for 7 p.m. Saturday in Park Hills.
The games against MAC
The Grizzlies finished their regular season this past weekend with back-to-back losses to the Cardinals. On Friday, in a game that was postponed from March 10, the Grizzlies fell 73-48 in Park Hills.
The Grizzlies stayed close to the Cardinals in the first half Friday, going into the halftime break down 27-23, but the Cardinals took off in the second period, outscoring the Grizzlies 46-25.
Saturday’s game was much closer, especially in the second half when the Grizzlies held a 3-point lead on several occasions against their nationally-ranked opponents. Despite battling to the end, MSU-WP once again fell to MAC 90-79.
“If we were going to win that game, we needed everything to align for us, and it didn’t, but at the same time I’m happy with how hard we played and how we competed,” Phay said of Saturday’s loss. “All I can really ask of our team is to compete, and we did that.”
The Grizzlies played both games without sophomore guard Ian Lopez, who was nursing an injury, but Phay hopes to have him back in time for the region tournament.
One bright spot in Saturday’s game was the play of freshman guard Sebian Dillard. The walk-on from Kentucky sparked the Grizzlies on the scoreboard with a team-leading 23 points.
The effort earned high praise from Phay. “Sebian has kept working and has really been able to help us down the stretch,” the coach said. “We have signed him to a scholarship next year because he has earned it.”
Sophomore guard Byron Breland added 19 points to the Grizzlies’ tally, while freshman guard James “Scooter” Williams pumped in 15.
Sophomore point guard Martaveon Williams found himself in foul trouble early and played limited minutes Saturday, Phay noted.
Taking a breather
After playing seven games in two weeks, including four road games, the Grizzlies are taking a few moments before preparing for Friday’s semifinal against the Greyhounds. They hope to avenge the heart-breaking overtime loss they suffered against Moberly the last time the two teams took the court on March 22.
“We had a lot of travel and a lot of games. It was a monumental task, but we got through it, and now we can get a little rest and some practice time to prepare for Moberly,” Phay said, adding he was proud of his players’ efforts during this difficult stretch.
Region tournament directors will allow fans at the games this weekend, Phay said, but tickets will be limited. Tournament ticket information will be announced later this week.
For more information about the Grizzly Basketball program, visit www.msuwpgrizzlies.com or call 417-255-7991.
