Texans fall at Western Texas, 81-70

SNYDER, Texas – The South Plains College Texans fell behind early in their game Monday night and never fully recovered as they lost for the second time in as many games, 81-70, on the road at Western Texas College.

Western Texas scored the first seven points and did not trail throughout the contest as they defeated the Texans in Snyder for the second consecutive season. 

Sophomore Ryan Martin led the Texans with 15 points and 11 rebounds.  Emmanuel Omogbo added 12 points and eight boards. 

South Plains (20-3, 7-2) made just 21-of-63 (.333) shots from the field and were outrebounded 42-34 by the Westerners. 

The loss drops the Texans into a three-way tie with Howard and Odessa for the league lead in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference standings.  SPC defeated Howard earlier in the year, but lost in their last contest to Odessa.  

New Mexico and Western Texas are only a half-game back, putting five teams in close contention for four spots in next month's Region V tournament in Lubbock. 

The Texans will travel to Big Spring on Thursday where they will complete a three-game road trip against the defending conference champions, Howard College.  South Plains and Howard are scheduled for a 7:45 p.m. tip. 

South Plains (20-3, 7-2)
Andre Spight 4-17 0-0 10, Billydee Williams 2-9 0-0 4, Sekou Harris 2-6 3-4 8, Malik Nichols 1-1 2-2 4, Clayton Jones 1-3 0-0 3, Emmanuel Omogbo 3-5 6-9 12, Roderick Lawrence 2-8 3-4 9, Cedrick McAfee 2-6 0-1 5, Ryan Martin 4-7 7-12 15, Michael Karena0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-63 21-32 70

Western Texas College (19-5, 7-3)
Justin Roberson 5-14 4-7 14, Derrick Herbert 2-5 5-6 9, Tiremone Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Marqous Barnes 1-2 0-0 2, Andris Misters 2-5 16-19 21, Gil Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Joseph Gray 0-0 0-0 0, Devonta Walker 5-11 9-9 19, Kendall Smith-Rodriguez 0-0 0-0 0, Ronnel Jordan 6-11 2-4 14, Tobe Okafor 0-2 2-4 2, Tommaso Ingrosso 0-1 0-0 0, Jeffrey Turner 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-52 38-49 81

FG%: South Plains .333, Western Texas College .404. 3-pt FG:South Plains 7-29 (Spight 2-14, Williams 0-5, Harris 1-2, Jones 1-1, Lawrence 2-4, McAfee 1-3), Western Texas College 1-8 (Roberson 0-2, Misters 1-2, Walker 0-1, Jordan 0-1, Ingrosso 0-1, Turner 0-1). Rebounds: South Plains 34 (Martin 11), Western Texas College 42 (Walker 14). Fouls South Plains 34, Western Texas College 26. Fouled out: Nichols McAfee Martin Okafor . Technical: Harris, South Plains Coach. Assists: South Plains 9 (Harris 3), Western Texas College 13 (Roberson 3, Misters 3, Walker 3). Steals: South Plains 6 (Harris 3), Western Texas College 5 (Roberson 2, Jordan 2). Blocked shots: South Plains 5 (Lawrence 2, Martin 2), Western Texas College 3 (Okafor 2). Turnovers: South Plains 15, Western Texas College 14.