On Friday, March 14, the Grizzlies’ men’s basketball team lost in the semifinal of the NJCAA Region 6 tournament, eliminating them from further post season competition. The men’s team lost to the Cowley Tigers, ending 54-58.
The Grizzlies were up by three points with a minute left on the clock (54-51). However, a series of turnovers and unnecessary decisions contributed to the grizzlies’ loss. The Cowley Tigers showed why they were the first seed and regular season KJCCC champions. They concentrated even more in the last minute to force those turnovers and turned them into points to snatch the victory. The Grizzlies had made up their first half deficit (26-33) in the second half but fell back into the mistakes they made all year, lack of concentration down the stretch.
On the same day, the women’s team lost in the semifinal of the NJCAA Region 6 tournament as well, opposing the Dodge City Conquistadores, 58-67.
The Grizzlies faced of the first seed, so the opposition was guaranteed to be difficult. The Grizzlies were completely out matched in the first quarter (10-20) by the Conquistadores. They showed a lot more aggressiveness jumping up and down for offensive and defensive rebounds. Those extra possessions contributed to the score board showing a large discrepancy. The Grizzlies up their intensity in the following quarters, but the difference was never wiped out. Ultimately, the Dodge City Conquistadores won the game by maintaining similar effort, and it was enough to come out victorious.
This was an amazing season for the basketball programs, as the men’s team had a new team, coaching staff and a new system but still made postseason basketball. They can build on this all through the offseason and possibly do even better next year.
The women’s team had a lot of new players and made it to post-season basketball, which is a positive sign for the future. They just met a better team in the Dodge city Conquistadores who were the first seed and regular season KJCCC champion. Next year an improvement will be made in hopes of qualifying for the NJCAA march tournament.
Players were awarded for their outstanding seasons: Freshman center Emeka Opurum is the Defensive Player of the Year, and he led the conference in blocks with 2.6 per game and made first team all- KJCCC. Sophomore guard Russell Branch was named honorable mention all-KJCCC, and he led the team in scoring with 11.5 ppg. Sophomore guard Bubba Leavell was named honorable mention all-KJCCC. Leavel was third in three pointers made in the conference.
On the women’s team freshman guard Ashley Singhateh was named Freshman of the Year in the KJCCC and earned first team all-KJCCC averaging 13.1 ppg. Freshman guard Keegan Yarick was named second team all-KJCCC scoring in double figures in over 20 games. Freshman forward Kenzie Galliart was named honorable mention all-KJCCC shooting 49% from the field. Freshman forward Lucia Lara was named honorable mention all-KJCCC, and she had three double doubles this season.