State Fair Roadrunners 71, Fort Scott Community College 70
With three minutes left in the first half of a home game with Fort Scott, Vonny Irvin found Amir Smith for a breakaway dunk, giving State Fair Community College men’s basketball its first, brief lead Wednesday over the Greyhounds.
Around the same time in the second half, Smith launched himself from under the basket – through a foul – and descended having given the Roadrunners its first lead since his last jam.
Smith’s spark, paired with the return of Willie Jimerson Jr., helped SFCC edge Fort Scott Community College 71-70 at the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center in Sedalia.
Onteral Woodson, Jr. paced State Fair with 24 points on 10 of 12 shooting. Jimerson and Russell Baker scored 13 apiece and Smith finished with eight.
While the victory proved exciting, Roadrunners head coach Kevin Thomas counts his second win over Fort Scott of the season as a steal.
“Overall, as a team, I thought our effort kind of waned in and out all night,” Thomas said. “We’ve got to get more guys playing at a high level. Right now we have one or two guys playing, and everyone else is just floating through.
“This is a weird team to figure out.”
State Fair (9-3) trailed by as much as 10 points in the second half, and chased the Greyhounds for about 38 minutes. Dametrius Walker led Fort Scott with a game-high 38 points, going 16-for-19 from the field.
The Roadrunners escaped North Arkansas College in its last home game, 99-96, November 22. After the game, players agreed there was little doubt they would still win. Thomas said the team’s confidence can be a double-edged sword.
“I think our urgency isn’t very good,” Thomas said. “We give up a lot of easy buckets. We don’t rebound the ball, we don’t get on the floor for loose balls … We don’t have the right mindset.”
Jimerson had four assists and turnovers each in his first game since Saturday, Nov. 12 at Marshalltown Community College. His 6-game absence was Thomas’ decision.
“He needed to take some time and get some things figured out,” Thomas said. “I thought his effort and energy was great. He was a big reason why we were able to make a run there at the end.”
State Fair men’s basketball opens the St. Louis College Shootout at St. Louis College 10 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 4 against Olive-Harvey College.
Fort Scott Community College 77, State Fair Lady Roadrunners 74
A 10-point swing in the first half was enough to keep Fort Scott undefeated Wednesday in a 77-74 win over the State Fair Community College Lady Roadrunners in Sedalia.
The Lady Roadrunners were mired by missed layups on breakaways in the first half, and the offense slowed after the break. State Fair (6-5) led by five in the first quarter but, after a last-second Maya Brewer layup, trailed 32-28 at half despite attempting 14 more shots than the Lady Greyhounds.
SFCC head coach Kevin Bucher said poor shot selection and fast-break misses hurt the home team’s chances of avenging at 59-56 road loss to Fort Scott (9-0) on November 8.
“We missed layups and layups and layups,” Bucher said. “If we take care of a lot of those layups that we missed, you get a 10-point, 12-point lead … We didn’t cover defensively – just, breakdowns, all the way around.
“It’s hard to pinpoint what needs to be done. Tonight, we just didn’t hit shots.”
Kendra Boone kept SFCC afloat in the half-court, drawing four fouls in two minutes before the fourth quarter. She finished with eight points – all free throws – and six rebounds in 15 minutes.
“We were kind of rushing,” Boone said. “We were looking for the contact instead of just focusing on going up strong with the ball.”
Alexis Cowan led the Lady Roadrunners with 17 points, while Danae Cole had 14 points and eight boards.
Brewer broke up a pass and found Takayla Gunter for three to tie the game at 41 in the third quarter. Gunter, who finished with 13 points, nearly tied the game at 52, but missed a free throw after a foul. She later tied the contest at 72 with a pair of makes at the charity stripe.
Fort Scott entered the fourth with a 1-point lead. The Lady Greyhounds led by as many as 10 before a late State Fair run.
After a Fort Scott back court violation, Danae Cole’s 3-pointer brought State Fair within two points with a minute to play. Jordan Danzer scored from beyond the perimeter over Gunter to claim a 3-point lead, and Gunter’s tying attempt glanced off the backboard.
The Lady Roadrunners face Southeastern Community College 2 p.m. Saturday in West Burlington, Iowa.
