Soares tabbed WJCAC MVP, four Texans earn All-Conference honors

LEVELLAND — Posting an overall record of 17-2 including a 12-1 mark in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference, earning a share of the conference title, the South Plains College men's basketball team was well represented on the WJCAC All-Conference team.

Head coach Steve Green was named the WJCAC Coach of the Year, leading the Texans to the top of the conference standings and back to the NJCAA Men's Basketball National Tournament for the fourth consecutive season. SPC ranks as the top defensive team in the league this season, giving up just 65.2 points per game, with opponents shooting just 35.8 percent from the floor.

South Plains is led by 6-7 sophomore Rivaldo Soares, who was named the WJCAC Most Valuable Player. Soares is averaging 14.4 points per game on the year, shooting 45.9 percent from the field and 35.8 percent from the 3-point line. Soares has scored in double figures 13 times this season, most notably, a career-high 28 point performance against Western Texas on March 11.

Myron Gardner was also tabbed as an  All-Conference selection, averaging 14.4 points per game while shooting 50 percent on the season. Gardner is shooting over 40 percent from distance, and also averages 7.7 boards and 2.3 assists per game.

Averaging 11.6 points per game, South Plains' 6-foot-7 guard Philmon Gebrewhit earned All-Conference honors. Gebrewhit is shooting over 46 percent from the field this season in 19 games played, including a 41 percent clip from 3. Gebrewhit has scored in double figures 15 times this season, including the last 10 games for SPC. Gebrewhit netted a career-high 20 points in the Texan's 87-80 victory over Western Texas College on March 11.  

Sophomore big man Yuot Gai was named honorable mention in the WJCAC, averaging 7.4 points per game this season. Gai is shooting 52.6 percent from the field, averaging 5.6 rebounds per game and shooting 38.9 percent from 3. Gai has scored in double figures six times this season, recording a pair of double-doubles, and scored a career-high 18 points on March 1 against Frank Phillips College.

South Plains will be back on the floor looking to bring home the program's fourth national title when they travel to Hutchinson, Kansas for the 2021 NJCAA Men's Basketball National Tournament April 19-24 at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. Receiving a first-round bye, the fifth-seeded Texans will take on the winner of No. 12 Salt Lake and No. 21 South Georgia State at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

2021 WJCAC All-Conference

Conference Champions  ---  South Plains College/Odessa College

Coaches of the Year  ---  Steve Green  ---  South Plains College/Kris Baumann  ---  Odessa College

MVP  ---  Rivaldo Soares  ---  South Plains College

BJ Simmons                     Clarendon College

Jakobe Dill                      Clarendon College

Lance-Amir Paul             Frank Phillips College

Jacoby Bishop                 Howard College

Khaleb Wilson-Rouse   New Mexico Military Institute

Dancell Leter                  Odessa College

Alphousseyni Diedhiou     Odessa College

Jordan Booker                Odessa College

Aquarn Butler                 Odessa College                         

Myron Gardner               South Plains College

Philmon Gebrewhit       South Plains College

Isaac Mushila                Western Texas College

FRESHMAN PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Zarique Nutter  ---  Clarendon College

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

Khaleb Wilson-Rouse  ---  New Mexico Military Institute

DEFENSIVEPLAYER OF THE YEAR

Aquarn Butler  ---  Odessa College

HONORABLE MENTION OF THE YEAR

Zarique Nutter  ---  Clarendon College

DJ Richardson  ---  Frank Phillips

Blaize Sagna  --  Howard College

Rodney Smith  ---  Howard College

Furaha Cadeaux De Dieu  ---  New Mexico Military Institute

Yuot Gai  ---  South Plains College

CJ Smith  ---  Western Texas College

Lucas Kroft  ---  Western Texas