Greyhounds Get Defensive in Second Half for Road Win
The road-weary MSCC Greyhounds closed out the road portion of their regular season schedule in style last night.
By Chuck Livingston
The Evening Times Sports Editor
MSCC Sports Information
The road-weary MSCC Greyhounds closed out the road portion of their regular season schedule in style last night.
MSCC (13-9 overall) rode a big second half to an 84-69 win against Central Baptist College JV in Conway, Arkansas.
The win completed a season sweep against Central Baptist as the Greyhounds also beat that team 113-84 at home on November 17.
The Greyhounds will now finish their 2014-2015 regular season with a five-game homestand.
While the margin of victory seems decisive, the game was in question in the game's first 20 minutes, as MSCC clung to a 41-38 lead at the break.
"We talked about a few defensive adjustments at halftime," MSCC head coach Chris Parker explained. "We wanted to cut down their opportunities in the paint, both in transition and in the half-court. We also wanted to guard the perimeter and never let them get going from the arc."
Central Baptist hit 11 three-point baskets against MSCC in the first meeting, but the Greyhounds limited them to just 4 last night, 2 in each half.
MSCC got 23 points from Kaylon Tappin, 18 from Tasmania Jones, 11 from Justin Harris, 9 from Shaquille Culbreath and 8 from Trent Steen in their winning effort.
"It's always good to win on the road," explained Parker. "It's good to have a little momentum going into a key home stretch. I know we're looking forward to playing in front of our fans at home."
Included in that home stretch is a key game against North Arkansas, who MSCC must beat if it wants to host their regional playoff game at The Dog House. That game will be played on Saturday, February 14.
Despite that fact, Parker would not allow himself, or his team to look ahead.
"We talk about the fact that we have individual opportunities to prepare and improve," explained Parker. "So these aren't just games that we have to play before North Arkansas: They're opportunities to fine-tune what we will do that will prepare us for North Arkansas and hopefully beyond."
MSCC will host West Kentucky Community and Technical College on Saturday at 3 p.m.