Grizzlies' winning streak ends with heart-breaking OT loss to Moberly

They say all good things come to an end, but the Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) Grizzly Basketball was hoping it could keep its current winning streak going a little longer.

Instead, a barrage of late-game threes by Region 16 rival Moberly Area Community College put an end to the Grizzlies' winning ways Monday evening at the West Plains Civic Center, and the Greyhounds handed MSU-WP a heart-breaking 97-90 overtime loss.

The Grizzlies' record is now 13-5 on the season and 6-3 in region play.

"It was a tough loss to take because I feel we did everything we needed to do to win," Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Jared Phay said. "But we have to give credit to Moberly for hitting big shots when they needed them."

The Grizzlies led throughout regulation, going into the halftime break with a 42-32 advantage and building a 16-point lead in the second half.

But the Greyhounds found their touch from behind the arc late in the game to quickly narrow that lead, and a deep three from Greyhound freshman Sincere Parker with 12 seconds remaining tied the game at 85-85, sending it to overtime.

From that point, the Grizzlies struggled to find the basket, while the Greyhounds continued with their run for the win.

"I am still proud of our guys' effort," Phay said. "We have had a lot of games in a short amount of time, and I think we ran out of gas."

Freshman guard James "Scooter" Williams paced the Grizzlies on the scoreboard with 28 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore point guard Martaveon Jones chipped in 17 points, while sophomore guards Byron Breland and Adnan Hussein added 15 and 12 points, respectively.

Phay was once again impressed by Williams' play. "I know people see how good of a player he is, but it also needs to be recognized how much we ask of him," the coach explained. "He brings the ball up a lot, posts up, battles for rebounds and defends well."

Monday's game was the first of four region the Grizzlies will play this week to close out the regular season. Wednesday, they will travel to Sedalia to face the State Fair Community College Roadrunners at 7:30 p.m.

The Grizzlies' final two games of the season could be their toughest. They will face the second-ranked Mineral Area College (MAC) Cardinals at 7 p.m. Friday in Park Hills, then turn around and host them Saturday for the annual homecoming game at the West Plains Civic Center. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.

"We just have to keep learning and build on the things we are doing well," Phay said.

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