Grizzlies finish fall semester with 95-94 win over United Prep

Just call him "Clutch."

For the second time this month, sophomore guard Byron "Tre" Breland, hit the game-winning shots for Missouri State University-West Plains' (MSU-WP) Grizzly Basketball team.

Thursday night, with just 4.2 seconds remaining, Breland canned two free throws to give the Grizzlies a 95-94 win over We Are United Prep from Nixa in Joe Paul Evans Arena at the West Plains Civic Center.

The win ups the Grizzlies' season record to 7-10 as they conclude their fall semester schedule.

"Byron was really good for us tonight, and overall I was proud of the effort from our guys because that's a very talented team," Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Jared Phay said.

Return of a Grizzly legend

We Are United is coached by former Grizzly Basketball standout Robert Yanders. Yanders, who came to the Grizzlies from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, led the program to its two best seasons in history between 1998-2000 and is the only Grizzly Basketball player to earn NJCAA All-American honors twice.

"It was great having Coach Yanders back in our gym," Phay said.

Yanders' basketball acumen has rubbed off on his squad. Although the Grizzlies started out strong, 8-1, United Prep battled back and took a 43-37 advantage into halftime.

But the Grizzlies answered in the second half behind strong scoring efforts by Breland and fellow sophomores Nico Hill and Mehdi Pissis. Breland led the Grizzlies in scoring with 21 points, followed by Pissis with 16 and Hill with 15.

United Prep was led by Kanon Gipson with 21 points.

Up next

The Grizzlies will receive a nice midwinter break before they take the court again on Jan. 5. They will travel to north Missouri to face Region 16 rival Moberly Area Community College in a 7 p.m. contest.

Their first home game of the spring semester will be Jan. 8 against another Region 16 rival, State Fair Community College. Tip off is 7 p.m. in Joe Paul Evans Arena at the West Plains Civic Center.

The Grizzlies are 1-0 in region play and hope to continue that trend in the new year, Phay said.

"We played a brutal non-region schedule, and we were not healthy for it, so I think our best basketball is ahead of us," the coach said.

For more information about the Grizzly Basketball program, visit www.msuwpgrizzlies.com or call 417-255-7991.