Texans hang on to win crucial road contest over Howard

BIG SPRING – The NJCAA fifth-ranked South Plains College Texans received double-digit scoring efforts from four players, including a game high 25 points from freshman Andre Spight, as they hung on to defeat No. 24 Howard 83-76 Thursday night at the Dorothy Garrett Coliseum.

The crucial conference victory helps South Plains maintain a tie with Odessa College atop the league standings as Howard falls to fourth. 

Spight was 7-of-11 from the field and 7-of-10 from beyond the 3-point arc. 

South Plains (21-3, 8-2) built a nine-point lead by the midway point of the first half, but a Howard rally closed their deficit to only three by halftime. 

The Texans again controlled much of the second half, leading by as many as 16 points. 

With less than five minutes remaining, the Hawks tried to make it interesting with a 12-2 run that put the outcome very much in doubt.  

In just over two minutes the Texans saw a 12-point lead shrink to only two with plenty of time remaining on the clock.

Emmanuel Omogbo helped the Texans settle down by converting a three-point play. Roderick Lawrence followed with two free throws and the Texans put some distance between them and the Hawks with a 78-71 advantage. 

Howard would cut the Texan lead to five and looked like they might event get closer when David Joseph grabbed a long rebound from a Texan miss and raced toward the Hawk goal for a fast-break opportunity.  Joseph made a bad pass to turn the ball over to the Texans. 

The Hawks would not get closer than four for the rest of the game and the Texans held on for the seven-point victory. 

South Plains received big help off the bench with Omogbo scoring 15 points and Billydee Williams chipping in with 11 and nine rebounds.  

South Plains will host New Mexico at the Texan Dome Monday, Feb. 10 in a rematch of what was a very exciting game in Hobbs last month in which the Texans rallied from nine points down in the final two minutes to earn a 73-71 victory over the T-Birds. 

Tip off for Monday's game is scheduled for 7:45 p.m.

South Plains (21-3, 8-2)
Andre Spight 7-11 4-6 25, Billydee Williams 3-5 2-2 11, Sekou Harris 2-8 2-4 6, Malik Nichols 0-1 0-0 0, Clayton Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Emmanuel Omogbo 5-10 5-10 15, Roderick Lawrence 2-7 6-10 10, Cedrick McAfee 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Martin 1-3 6-7 8, Michael Karena4-7 0-0 8. Totals 24-53 25-39 83

Howard College (19-5, 7-3)
Jalin Barnes 7-10 0-0 16, Demeco Blue 4-5 1-8 9, Kieth Broome 0-3 0-0 0, Niels Bunschoten 0-1 0-0 0, Travis Charles 1-4 0-0 2, Torrian Epps 1-3 0-0 3, David Joseph 8-12 6-8 24, Darius Johnson 0-2 2-2 2, Lis Shoshi 2-4 2-2 6, Eric Weary 5-10 3-4 14. Totals 28-54 14-24 76

FG%: South Plains .453, Howard College .519. 3-pt FG:South Plains 10-17 (Spight 7-10, Williams 3-4, Harris 0-1, Jones 0-1, Lawrence 0-1), Howard College 6-12 (Barnes 2-3, Broome 0-2, Epps 1-2, Joseph 2-2, Weary 1-3). Rebounds: South Plains 37 (Williams 9, Lawrence 9), Howard College 24 (Epps 6). Fouls South Plains 22, Howard College 29. Fouled out: Charles Epps . Technical: Harris, Howard College Coach. Assists: South Plains 15 (Harris 8), Howard College 15 (Weary 5). Steals: South Plains 8 (Williams 2, Harris 2), Howard College 12 (Joseph 6). Blocked shots: South Plains 0, Howard College 2 (TEAM 1, Epps 1). Turnovers: South Plains 20, Howard College 20.