Grizzlies hold off Link Year Prep in annual homecoming game

A festive homecoming atmosphere set the tone for the Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) Grizzly Basketball team to pick up a much needed win Tuesday night.

The Grizzlies, now 10-17 on the season, defeated a talented Link Year Prep team from Branson 80-73 before an enthusiastic crowd in Joe Paul Evans Arena at the West Plains Civic Center.

MSU-WP fell behind 7-0 early in the contest before battling back to take a 41-36 advantage into halftime. During the second half, the Grizzlies went up by as many as 16 points before a late-game charge by Link Year pulled them within the final spread.

"Overall, it was a great atmosphere with the homecoming activities, and I feel like we had extra energy because of the great atmosphere," Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Jared Phay said.

Sophomore forward Mehdi Pissis led the Grizzlies in scoring with 14 points. Freshman guard Reese Dodson, in his first start of the season, made the most of the opportunity to net 11.

"It was good to see Mehdi and Reese continue to play well. Those guys put in a lot of work, and it's good to see it pay off," the coach said.

The Grizzlies return to the road this weekend to face Region 16 rival Moberly Area Community College in Moberly. Tipoff is 7 p.m. Saturday.

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