No. 2 Texans too strong for Western Texas in second half

LEVELLAND – Freshman Andre Spight scored 16 of his game high 19 points in the second half and the No. 2-ranked South Plains College Texans were too strong for Western Texas College down the stretch, as they remained undefeated with a 70-60 victory Saturday afternoon at the Texan Dome.

Spight was 2-of-12 from the field when he hit from downtown with 6:51 remaining in the game and would not miss again as he hit three more 3-point baskets over the next four minutes to help the Texans put the game away against the feisty Westerners. 

The Texans (12-0, 1-0 WJCAC) took control of the contest early as they sped out to a 12-point lead by the midway point of the first half. 

 Western Texas (12-3, 1-1 WJCAC) responded with a 14-3 run over a four-minute span that was capped with a 3 by Andris Misters, pulling the Westerners to within a point, 26-25 with just over five minutes to go.  

At the conclusion of the first half, Western Texas had completed their comeback and took a 32-31 lead to the locker room. 

Devonta Walker began the second half with what appeared might be a tone-setting dunk, but SPC's Roderick Lawrence responded on the opposite end of the court with a floater in the paint to pull back to within one. 

Ryan Martin then recorded two consecutive blocks for the Texans and the momentum quickly shifted SPC's way as Sekou Harris put the Texans up 35-34 and South Plains never trailed again.  

Lawrence capped a 17-3 Texan scoring run that put the Texans back up 48-37 at the 10:51 mark. 

South Plains would lead by as many as 18 points before settling for the 10-point victory. 

Lawrence recorded his second double-double of the season, scoring 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and pulling down 10 boards in the victory.  Martin finished with 13 for South Plains. 

After making only 11-of-30 (.367) shots in the first half, the Texans improved in the second by hitting on 14-of-24 (.583) to finish with 25-of-54 (.463) for the game.  The Texans also made 9-of-19 (.474) 3-point goals in the game. 

South Plains will now enjoy time off from competition before traveling the Mesa, Ariz. for the Fiesta Bowl J.C. Classic, hosted by Mesa Community College where the Texans will play Central Arizona College Friday, Dec. 27 in the first round of the eight team tournament.  SPC's next conference game will be Monday, Jan. 6 at 7:45 p.m. when they host the defending WJCAC champions, Howard College, at the Texan Dome.

Western Texas College (12-3, 1-1)
Justin Roberson 4-9 6-10 14, Derrick Herbert 0-0 0-0 0, Tiremone Williams 2-4 1-2 6, Marqous Barnes 0-1 0-0 0, Andris Misters 4-11 2-2 12, Joseph Gray 0-1 0-0 0, Devonta Walker 6-9 4-6 17, Kendall Smith-Rodriguez 0-1 0-0 0, Ronnel Jordan 4-17 2-3 11, Tobe Okafor 0-2 0-0 0, Tommaso Ingrosso 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-55 15-23 60

South Plains (12-0, 1-0)
Andre Spight 6-16 1-2 19, Billydee Williams 1-3 0-0 3, Sekou Harris 3-6 0-0 6, Malik Nichols 4-8 0-0 8, Emmanuel Omogbo 1-1 0-0 2, Roderick Lawrence 7-11 2-5 18, Cedrick McAfee 0-1 1-2 1, Ryan Martin 3-8 7-11 13. Totals 25-54 11-20 70

FG%: Western Texas College .364, South Plains .463. 3-pt FG:Western Texas College 5-17 (Roberson 0-2, Williams 1-3, Misters 2-3, Walker 1-3, Jordan 1-6), South Plains 9-19 (Spight 6-12, Williams 1-2, Lawrence 2-4, McAfee 0-1). Rebounds: Western Texas College 33 (Walker 9), South Plains 34 (Lawrence 10). Fouls Western Texas College 15, South Plains 17. Fouled out: Nichols . Technical: none. Assists: Western Texas College 7 (Roberson 2, Williams 2, Smith-Rodriguez 2), South Plains 9 (Harris 7). Steals: Western Texas College 2 (Roberson 1, Walker 1), South Plains 9 (Spight 2, Nichols 2, Lawrence 2). Blocked shots: Western Texas College 3 (Okafor 2), South Plains 4 (Lawrence 2, Martin 2). Turnovers: Western Texas College 15, South Plains 14.