Roadrunners upset nationally ranked Moberly in overtime

Moberly, Mo.-The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Roadrunners men's basketball team snapped a six-game losing streak with an 83-80 win in overtime against 16^th-ranked Moberly Area Community College on Wednesday night, Jan. 14 in Moberly, Mo. The game was part of the Region 16 schedule for both teams and was the first win for SFCC against Moberly since the 2013-2014 season, a span of 31 games. The back-and-forth contest featured 13 lead changes and 13 ties.

The Roadrunners (10-11, 1-2 in Region 16) jumped out to an 8-0 lead with less than 19 minutes to go in the first half. Moberly responded with a run of their own to take a 9-8 lead with less than 16 minutes to go in the opening half. The lead went back and forth for the entirety of the game. The score was tied at 37 at halftime.

In the second half, SFCC had a 51-49 lead with less than 12 minutes to go in regulation. SFCC had a 60-54 lead later in the half. The six-point advantage was the largest lead held by either team in the contest. The Greyhounds would respond once again. Moberly tied the game at 60, with about seven minutes remaining in regulation. Both teams continued to battle, freshman guard/wing Andin Ashford knocked down a huge three-point shot to tie the game at 74 with 21 seconds remaining in regulation. SFCC got the game into overtime. SFCC made the plays down the stretch to secure the victory including a pair of free throws from sophomore forward Malick Ndiaye to put SFCC ahead by three points with 3.6 seconds remaining in overtime. Moberly missed a three-point shot that would have tied the game and sent the contest into a second overtime.

"I thought guys were mentally locked in before we ever left campus today," said Roadrunners head coach Jeremy Jackson. "We played hard and kept things simple which really helped. We rebounded well and won the turnover battle tonight which has been really hurting us. Andin Ashford stepped up big for us in his starting role tonight, along with JP Ndong who is really coming along scoring the ball."

Ndong led the team in scoring with 22 points. Ashford contributed 21 points. Ndiaye registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Ndiaye led the team in steals with four and tied for the team lead in blocked shots with two. Sophomore guard Gavin Q Murphy added 10 points. Freshman wing Da'Ron Hall pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds and tied for the team lead in blocked shots with two. Freshman guard Chanler Joseph dished out a team-high 11 assists. Sophomore forward Loic Mimche tied for the team lead in blocked shots with two.

SFCC will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 17 with a home Region 16 game against Missouri State University-West Plains. Tipoff from the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center is scheduled for 4 p.m.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics