Texans blast Western Texas, 66-46

January 18, 2013

LEVELLAND – Ryan Martin recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds and teammate Yanick Moreira had another big game, finishing with 18 points and eight rebounds to help the SPC Texans get back on the winning track with a 66-46 victory over Western Texas Thursday night at the Texan Dome.

In his last six games, Martin has averaged 11.3 points and 11.1 rebounds per game.

Freshman Michael Karena tied his season high with 12 points, including a couple dunks that received attention from the fans in attendance.

South Plains (14-4, 3-2 WJCAC) looked like they might be in for another slugfest as the two teams were tied as the first half neared the midway point.

The Texans were able to put some distance on Western Texas when they went on an 11-3 scoring run to go up 10, 29-19.

Karena scored six of his 10 points during that span.

The Westerners (11-8, 1-4) would only see a see a single-digit deficit twice more for the remainder of the game and went to the locker room down 12, 35-23.

South Plains scored the first five points of the second half, giving themselves a 17-point cushion just over a minute into the second frame. The Texans stretched their lead to 22 points with 15:17 remaining in the game, thanks to a 3-point basket at the top of the key by Moreira.

Western Texas would not get to within 20 points for the rest of the game as the Texans led by as many as 26 on their way to the 20 point victory.

South Plains made nearly 50-percent of their shots and outrebounded the Westerners 42-29. Western Texas shot a meager 16-of-54 (.296) from the floor.

After a tough start to conference play, the Texans will now have time to recoup as they are not scheduled to play again until a road trip to Odessa next Thursday, January 17, where they will face the Wranglers of Odessa College at 7:45 p.m.

Next Thursday's game will be broadcast live online at www.spctexans.com with KLVT's Michael Wiiest calling the action. Fans can also listen to Wiiest by tuning their radio dial to KLVT 1230 AM or online at www.klvtradio.com.

WTC (11-8, 1-4)
Tiremone Williams 1-8 3-4 5, Austin Shockley 0-0 0-0 0, Justin Roberson 5-11 3-6 13, Joseph Gray 2-4 0-0 5, Devonta Walker 3-9 4-6 11, Marqous Barnes 0-3 0-0 0, Ronnel Jordan 2-10 1-3 5, Bunja Yaboe 2-7 1-2 5, Chris Kemp 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 16-54 12-21 46

South Plains (14-4, 3-2)
Yanick Moreira 8-15 1-2 18, Jamaal Samuel 0-1 0-0 0, Darrel Lucky 2-2 0-0 4, Devonte Smith 1-5 0-0 2, Malik Nichols 1-1 0-0 3, Kendahl Amerson 1-7 3-3 5, Roderick Lawrence2-9 1-2 6, Brandon Neel 2-4 0-0 4, Ryan Martin 5-6 2-2 12, Michael Karena 6-7 0-0 12. Totals 28-57 7-9 66
SCORE BY PERIODS   1st   2nd   TOTAL
WTC                               23   23   46
South Plains                   35   31   66

FG%: WTC .296, South Plains .491. 3-pt FG:WTC 2-13 (Williams 0-2, Roberson 0-2, Gray 1-1, Walker 1-3, Jordan 0-4, Yaboe 0-1), South Plains 3-15 (Moreira 1-1, Samuel 0-1, Smith 0-1, Nichols 1-1, Amerson 0-5, Lawrence 1-6). Rebounds: WTC 29 (Roberson 7), South Plains 42 (Martin 10). Fouls WTC 11, South Plains 17. Fouled out: none. Technical: none. Assists: WTC 7 (Williams 2, Roberson 2, Jordan 2), South Plains 14 (Moreira 2, Smith 2, Amerson 2, Lawrence 2, Neel 2). Steals: WTC 10 (Williams 4), South Plains 8 (Moreira 3). Blocked shots: WTC 2 (Roberson 1, Yaboe 1), South Plains 1 (Moreira 1). Turnovers: WTC 15, South Plains 16.