WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) Grizzly Basketball team was hoping to exact a little revenge on the Mineral Area College Cardinals after losing to their Region 16 counterpart earlier this month in Park Hills.
But the 13th-ranked Cardinals showed why they’re one of the top teams in the country Wednesday evening when they held the Grizzlies at bay, 80-54, in Joe Paul Evans Arena at the West Plains Civic Center.
“Mineral Area is a good team, and they are playing very well right now,” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Jared Phay said. “Even so, I though we showed some flashes tonight where we looked good and competed.”
The COVID-19 pandemic continued to be a factor in the Grizzlies’ efforts. Even though Phay returned to the bench after being sidelined by the illness, the Grizzlies had to take the court without starting point guard Sterling White and sophomore guard Sebian Dillard, both of whom are in COVID-19 protocols.
Sophomore wings Byron “Tre” Breland and Mehdi Pissis tried to pick up the slack by leading the team in scoring with 12 points each. “Byron and Mehdi did a lot of good things for us tonight,” Phay said.
The Cardinals were led by Brett Thompson, who had 25 points.
The Grizzlies return to the road Saturday to battle Region 16 foe State Fair Community College at 7 p.m. in Sedalia, then will host fellow Region 16 competitor Moberly Area Community College at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 31, in a make-up game.
For more information about the Grizzly Basketball program, visit www.msuwpgrizzlies.com or call 417-255-7991.
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