Grizzlies prepare to face Raiders for 3rd time this season

The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team is hoping the third time is the charm when they face Region 16 arch rival Three Rivers College Saturday.

"We've had two great games with Three Rivers this year, and I expect this one to be the same," Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Chris Popp said. "We're going to have to come up with the winning plays."

In the previous two meetings, the Grizzlies have been just a few points shy of victory. "The timely plays have been getting us recently – the key stop, the key rebound. We have to win the big possessions and find a way to win," he added.

Tip off will be 7 p.m. at the Libla Family Sports Complex on the Three Rivers campus.

The Grizzlies will go into the contest with a 9-17 overall record and a 2-3 Region 16 record. They defeated Nationwide Academy, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 79-77 Tuesday evening and fell to Sunrise Christian Academy, Wichita, Kansas, 84-78 this past Saturday. Both games were at the West Plains Civic Center.

Game vs. Sunrise

The Grizzlies had their hands full with Sunrise. One of the most talented teams on the Grizzlies' schedule, the Buffaloes showed how quickly they can score and build an advantage over their opponents. At halftime the Buffaloes led 38-33.

The Grizzlies responded in the second half behind several back-to-back 3-pointers and gave themselves an opportunity to win in the last two minutes of the game. But miscues and an inability to guard the basket kept the Grizzlies from securing a win.

"We came out with great energy," Popp said. "We took a 10-2 lead to start the contest before Sunrise made their first run. By midway through the second half, we were down 18. A couple of months ago, we would have finished on the losing end of a 20-plus point game. But our guys fought back and worked it down to a two possession game with a minute to play.

"Possessions and their offensive rebounding got us. Missed free throws hurt us, too. There are several things you have to do to win against good teams, and we fell short," he said.

Sophomore guard Taevon Horton led a balanced scoring attack with 18 points. He was followed by sophomore forward Alex Peterson and sophomore guard Sardaar Calhoun with 16 points each, and freshman guard Franklyn Petion with 11.

Peterson also led the team in rebounding with eight grabs.

Game vs. Nationwide

Tuesday night's game looked tenuous for the Grizzlies at times, but they were able to keep composure and pick up the win on a last-second jump shot by Peterson.

"We put some stipulations on things last night and maybe didn't play our best game, but we made strides as a team, and that is what everything is about at this point. We're focused on the long game at the end of the season and winning the ones that matter most," Popp said.

Peterson ended the night with a team leading 21 points. "Alex played well, especially in the second half. He was sick, but he was a warrior and played through it. He continues to get better," Popp said.

The coach also was pleased with the play of his bench. "As a group across the board, I don't have any fear putting anyone in at this part. It's hard with the way the season has gone to keep things together, but we have guys who are still buying in and I appreciate that. We constantly talk about dealing with adversity, one of life's lessons learned through sports. They are showing who they are in how they have responded this season," Popp said.

Other Grizzlies scoring in double figures Tuesday included Calhoun with 14 and Horton with 11.

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