Roadrunners battle back to defeat Mineral Area

Sedalia, Mo.-The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Roadrunners men's basketball team picked up an 87-79 Region 16 victory over Mineral Area College on Wednesday night, Feb. 11 inside the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center at Sedalia. The game featured four lead changes and three ties.

SFCC (13-14, 3-4 in Region 16) trailed 15-9 with about 15 minutes remaining in the opening half. The Roadrunners trimmed the early deficit to 27-24 with less than 10 minutes remaining.

 Nate Wilder knocked out a pair of free throws to take a 33-32 lead with about five minutes remaining in the opening half. SFCC took a 44-36 lead at halftime.

"We had to get Mineral Area into the half-court," said Roadrunners head coach Jeremy Jackson. "When Mineral Area is in transition, they are really good. Once we slowed the game down and made them execute against our half-court defense, I thought that's what got us back into the game."

Mineral Area cut the advantage to 76-71 with less than four minutes remaining in the game. The Roadrunners made the plays down the stretch to preserve the important Region 16 victory.

"Gavin Q Murphy played really hard tonight," said Jackson. "Normally, teams are running him off the three-point line. He has been working hard on getting to the paint. I thought he was really good tonight… I thought Jai'Kori Phillps had a big game for us. He plays hard and plays the right way. He is not flashy; he just gets the job done. I thought Danny (Garza) had a heck of the game rebounding."

Murphy led the team in scoring with 25 points. Phillps contributed 16 points. Wilder added 15 points. Garza pitched in with 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Garza also led the team in blocked shots with four. Wilder dished out a team-high seven assists and tied for the team lead in steals with Phillps with three each.

SFCC will return to action on Saturday, Feb.14 with a home contest against Three Rivers College. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. from the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics