Grizzlies come up short twice at Missouri/Iowa Challenge

The Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) Grizzly Basketball team continued its march through a brutal early-season schedule.

This past weekend, the Grizzlies (1-5) dropped both of their games at the second annual Missouri/Iowa Challenge Tournament in West Burlington, Iowa. They lost to preseason No. 13 Indian Hills Community College from Ottumwa 75-70 Friday evening, then fell to Triton College from River Gore, Illinois, 73-67.

"We tried to schedule the toughest schedule we could get to start the season, and in terms of wins and losses, we are not where we want to be," Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Jared Phay said.

"But we also have not yet played a game with everyone healthy, and we have played really well against some of the best teams in the country and showed glimpses of how good we can be," he added.

The games

The Grizzlies made the Warriors earn their win Friday. After trailing 44-35 at halftime, the Grizzlies battled back from an 11-point deficit to tie the game at 59-59 with about 12 minutes remaining. They continued to battle the Warriors and took their first lead of the game around the two minute mark, 68-65.

After trading buckets, Indian Hills' Isaiah Marin hit a tough 3-pointer to tie the game at 70-70, and the Grizzlies could not recover the lead before time expired.

Phay was impressed by his team's performance against the Warriors. "Honestly, it was a great game. Indian Hills is as good of a team as we will play all year, and we had a chance to win that game. It was an intense battle and a very high level game for this early in the season," he said.

Sophomore guard Byron Breland turned in a double-double performance with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman guard Kevon Eskridge added 13 points and sophomore guard Mehdi Pissis scored 11.

Indian Hills was led by Taj Anderson, who had 16 points.

Phay gave kudos to Breland and sophomore forward Nico Hill, who had 9 points and five rebounds in the contest, for their leadership.

"They play hard, they compete and they kept us in the game," the coach said.

Although the Grizzlies took the court without sophomore guard Donovan Freeman, who is battling a hamstring injury, they did add sophomore transfer guard Isaiah Lewis to the lineup for the first time this season.

"It was good to get Isaiah out there because he is very quick with the ball and gives us more speed," Phay said.

Saturday's contest against Triton, who received votes in the NJCAA preseason poll, proved to be another battle. The Grizzlies had no answer for West Virginia commit Patrick Suemnick, who led the Trojans with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

But Breland gave the Grizzlies a bright spot, turning in another double-double performance with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Lewis added 16 points.

This was the second year for the Missouri/Iowa Challenge. The event features eight teams – three from Iowa, four from Missouri and Triton.

Returning home

The Grizzlies will start a six-game home stretch this week, beginning with a 7 p.m. contest against Link Year Prep from Branson at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Joe Paul Evans Arena at the West Plains Civic Center.

They will then host the Grizzly Classic Friday and Saturday. They will play Labette Community College from Parsons, Kansas, at 7 p.m. Friday, then face Kansas City, Kansas, Community College at 7 p.m. Saturday.

The Grizzlies finish out the month by hosting the Grizzly Invitational Nov. 26 and 27, during which they will face National Park College from Hot Springs, Arkansas, and Western Texas College from Snyder.

On Dec. 1, the Grizzlies will open Region 16 play by hosting the Three Rivers College Raiders from Poplar Bluff at 7 p.m.

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