State Fair Men Fall to Moberly, 80-77

The Roadrunners took on the Moberly Area Community College Greyhounds, ranked 19th in NJCAA Division I poll. The game was part of the Region 16 and the Missouri Community College Athletic Conference schedule.

Moberly emerged with a hard-fought 80-77 victory in front of a large crowd at the Davis Center.

The Greyhounds got off to a fast start leading 15-5 with less than 14 minutes remaining in the opening half. The Roadrunners went on a run to erase the deficit courtesy of a three-pointer from the far corner by freshman guard Dominic Fragola.

He was fouled and went to the free-throw line but was unable to complete the four-point play. However, freshman guard/forward Caleb Coleman grabbed the offensive rebound and put it in the basket to take the lead 20-19. At halftime, SFCC led 41-31.

The Roadrunners built a 14-point lead at 55-41 in the second half. Nevertheless, Moberly chipped away and tied the game at 72 with less than two minutes remaining. Freshman guard Tim Leavell answered with a basket and was fouled while shooting but was unable to complete the three-point play.

The Greyhounds hit a three-point shot on their final offensive possession. The Roadrunners had a chance to tie but missed a three-point shot as time expired.

"I was proud of our guys," said head coach Matt Brown. "Dom Fragola came in and made some good shots for us. Our defense was good. At the end of a game against a good team, we have to convert on the offensive end, make our free throws and layups and not turn the ball over. We missed a couple of easy shots. I give Moberly credit; they made a tough shot."

Freshman guard Tyreek Scott-Grayson and sophomore guard Andre (A.J.) Walker tied for the team lead in scoring with 16 points each. Walker dished out a team-high nine assists and led the team in steals with two. Coleman contributed a double-double with 15 points and a team-high 14 rebounds. Freshman guard Dru Smith pitched in 12 points, and Leavell recorded 10.

SFCC, now 15-4, take on Missouri State University - West Plains Wednesday night in a conference game at home starting at 7:30 p.m.

David Rohrbach, SFCC Athletics