Grizzlies fall to Moberly at home; Arkansas Baptist game rescheduled

They played fast, and they fought hard, but the Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) Grizzly Basketball team fell short Tuesday night against Region 16 rival Moberly Area Community College at the West Plains Civic Center.

The Grizzlies, now 6-3, dropped a 116-107 decision to the Greyhounds and in a fast-paced, high-scoring battle that set the tone for the series this season.

"We have to give credit to Moberly. They played well tonight," Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Jared Phay said. "They hit a lot of shots, and they took us out of our offense with their press. We didn't do a good job moving the ball. We will have to get back to the drawing board."

The Greyhounds started the game on a 9-0 run before the Grizzlies answered with a run of their own. The teams battled back and forth throughout the first half, with the Greyhounds going up by as much as 11 points. But the Grizzlies clawed their way back again and went into the halftime break leading 58-57.

The Grizzlies again came out cold early in the second half, allowing 6 quick points by the Greyhounds before scoring their first bucket. And, once again, Moberly extended their lead to 11. But just as they had in the first half, the Grizzlies battled back, aided by Greyhound turnovers, taking a 1-point lead with 12 minutes remaining in the period.

The teams battled back and forth swapping leads until the Greyhounds began pulling away late in the game, thanks in large part to a 27-point performance by Dezi Jones, and finished the game with the 9-point advantage.

"It was a hard-fought game," Phay said. "We knew it would be a game of runs, but ultimately Moberly shot the ball better than we did. We have to learn from this and move on. We have a lot of games coming up in a short amount of time."

Freshman guard Scooter Williams had a break-out game scoring 30 points to lead all scorers. Sophomore point guard Jesse Zarzuela added 26.

"We can take some positives from tonight," Phay said. " Scooter was really good, and honestly, we should have gotten him the ball even more."

Next up for the Grizzlies is a road game at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24, against Region 16 rival State Fair Community College in Sedalia. They will then return home to host Three Rivers College at 7 p.m. Monday, March 1.

"This is a tough region. We do not have any nights off. We can't let ourselves get too high (with wins) or too low (with losses). We just need to get back to doing what we do," Phay said.

 Arkansas Baptist game rescheduled

 The Grizzlies' home game with Arkansas Baptist College, which was set for Saturday, Feb. 20, is now scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, at the civic center.

Arkansas Baptist asked to postpone the game due to inclement weather, Phay said.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, seating will be limited at all of the Grizzlies' home games, and social distancing and masking will be required throughout the event for everyone age 10 and above, Phay reminded. Children age 2 to 9 are highly recommended to wear a mask, he added.

Those planning to attend should have their masks on when they enter the civic center. Masks will need to remain on throughout the game.

Ushers will be available to answer questions, and signage will be placed to help with seating. Every other row will be blocked off and three seats will be required between groups if seated in the same row.

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