Date: November 2, 2009
Contact: Yancey Walker, Head Coach
Grizzly Basketball Office
417-255-7993

    WILBURTON, Okla. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team started off the 2009-10 campaign on the right note with a 71-50 victory over Eastern Oklahoma State College Sunday, Nov. 1, in Wilburton, Okla.
    Yancey Walker, head coach of the Grizzlies, said he liked what he saw during his team’s first outing of the year.  “I was proud of our effort.  The mistakes we made during the game can be fixed because they were not ‘lack-of-hustle’ errors,” he explained.  “We talked about the first 10 possessions and the last 10 possessions of each half being extremely important, and we executed on those possessions.”
    The Grizzlies held a 37-20 lead at halftime and outscored Eastern Oklahoma 34-30 in the second half.  “We held them without an offensive rebound in the first half and gathered several ourselves,” Walker said.  “Twann Oakley’s offensive rebound and put-back was a great lift sending us into halftime.”
    Freshman wing Gage Wooten led the Grizzlies in scoring with 16 points.  He was followed by freshman point guard Chris Mason with 12; freshman wing Quinton Pippen 9; Oakley, freshman forward Teddy Simniok and sophomore wing Tommy Williams each with 8; redshirt freshman point guard Kyle Armour 6; freshman guard Dane Lottner 2; and freshman forward Nathan Simniok and freshman center Sam Sopolinski each with 1.
    Walker noted both Oakley and Williams were perfect from the free throw line.
    The Grizzlies will return to the road for a 7:30 p.m. contest Wednesday, Nov. 4, at Fort Scott Community College in Fort Scott, Kan.  “They play a lot of zone, which is different from most teams, so we’ll have to really prepare in the next two days,” Walker said.
    For more information about the Grizzly Basketball program, visit the team’s Web site at http://www.wp.missouristate.edu/grizzly/bb.htm.