Roadrunners defeat Three Rivers on Homecoming in final seconds

Sedalia, Mo.-The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Roadrunners men's basketball team picked up an important 74-72 victory over Three Rivers College inside the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center. The game was part of the Region 16 schedule for both teams. It featured 10 lead changes and nine ties.

SFCC (14-14, 5-5 in Region 16) trailed 15-11 early in the contest. Freshman wing JP Ndong of Germany/ Senegal tied the game at 19 with a three-point shot with less than 16 minutes to go in the opening half. SFCC took a 29-27 lead into halftime.

The women's basketball and spirit squad sophomores were honored at halftime of the men's contest. SFCC also honored legendary head coach Bill Barton in recognition of his recent induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, with a framed jersey.

The Roadrunners extended their halftime advantage to 47-40 courtesy of a three-point shot from freshman guard/wing Andin Ashford of Wilkesboro, N.C. The Roadrunners took a 49-40 lead, the largest of the contest for either team with about 13 minutes remaining in the contest.

"We have to work on keeping those leads," said Roadrunners head coach Jeremy Jackson. "We have to learn how to get some stops on the defensive end and separate instead of letting teams come back in games."

 Three Rivers refused to go away as they fought their way all the way back to tie the game at 72. Three Rivers had the ball with 2.7 seconds remaining in regulation.

SFCC freshman guard Nate Wilder of East Stroudsburg, Pa. stole the inbounds pass and raced up the floor to convert the layup with less than a second remaining. SFCC stole another inbounds pass to secure the important victory.

"We have a drill in practice where if someone makes a bounce pass, we run through it," said Jackson. "They made a bounce pass on the inbounds and Nate's instincts just kind of took over there. I am very happy for our guys we have fought hard all year and battled through adversity. It is good to see some good things happen for us when we work hard."

Sophomore guard Gavin Q Murphy of Calabasas, Calif. led the team in scoring with 19 points. Wilder contributed 15 points and dished out a team-high five assists. He also tied for the team lead in steals with two along with Ndong, sophomore forward Daniel Garza of Hammond, Ind., sophomore wing Jai'Kori Phillps of Pine Bluff, Ark., and Murphy. Ndong pitched in with 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Ashford added 10 points. Phillps also added 10 points and a team-high three blocked shots.

SFCC will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 21 with another Region 16 contest at Missouri State University-West Plains. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

David Rohrbach

SFCC Athletics