Greyhounds Get Split in St. Louis

By Chuck Livingston
The Evening Times Sports Editor
MSCC Sports Information

The MSCC Greyhounds are 5-4 after splitting a pair of games over the weekend, losing at St. Louis Community College and winning at Missouri Baptist.

But they very nearly swept through the famed "Gateway to the West."

MSCC lost to St. Louis 85-80 in a back-and-forth affair that saw the two teams separated by just a point at halftime (41-40 in favor of St. Louis),  which set up a series of lead exchanges in the second half that led to the Archers making the biggest play of the game.

The Greyhounds trailed by two points with under 30 seconds to play and needed only one defensive stop to have a chance to tie or win it in the final possession of regulation. But with the shot clock running down and the MSCC defense shutting down the paint, St. Louis threw up a long three-pointer that rang true that extended their lead to five points, paving the way for the home victory.

"We did a good job defensively," MSCC head coach Chris Parker said. "They ended up taking an NBA-range three-pointer, but it hit all net and that was basically the game. They hit a tough shot when they had to and we didn't do quite enough to overcome it."

MSCC got a well-balanced scoring night against St. Louis. The Greyhounds were led by Kaylon Tappin's 16 points, followed by 10 apiece from Tony White, Shaquille Culbreath and Tyler Armstrong. Marquavious Smith finished with nine points and Tasmania Jones scored eight.

The Greyhounds surged back above the .500 mark on Saturday when they turned in their top defensive performance in the second half to top Missouri Baptist JV 91-51.

MSCC led 47-31 at halftime against Missouri Baptist, behind 10 first half points from Joe Dye, and eight more from Tappin.

But the Greyhounds revved up the defensive intensity in giving up a season-low 20 points in the second half while holding Missouri Baptist's Michael Asleson without a field goal in the second half after he scored 18 of his game-high 21 points in the first half. MSCC added 44 points in the second half as six MSCC players finished play with double digit scoring.

Tony White led MSCC with 15 points, followed by Tappin's 14 points, and 12 from Dye and Culbreath. Jones and Justin Harris chipped in 10 apiece in the victory.

There's no rest for the weary Greyhounds. MSCC is back in action tonight against Northwest Mississippi Community College at home in a doubleheader.

The Lady Greyhounds play at 5:30 p.m. and the men will play at approximately 7:30 p.m.