Second-ranked Texans fall to No. 12 Monroe 73-72

MESA, Ariz. – The anticipated matchup between the second-ranked South Plains College Texans and No. 12-ranked Monroe College Mustangs lived up to its billing as the contest went down to the wire during the semifinal game of the Fiesta Bowl Junior College Shootout in Mesa, Ariz. 

Despite leading for much of the game, South Plains wound up suffering their first defeat of the season, 73-72. 

South Plains (13-1) jumped on the Mustangs early, scoring the first nine points and led by as many as 12 in the early stages of the first half. 

Monroe (13-0) would eventually snap out of their cold spell and, ultimately, too their first lead of the game as the clock would down in the first half. 

At halftime, the Texans trailed 33-32. 

The two teams followed a similar script in an exciting second half. 

With 11:11 to go in the contest, freshman Andre Spight capped a 13-5 Texan scoring with a fast-break bucket that put the Texans back up by nine, 55-46. 

Monroe responded with an 8-0 run of their own and with just over six minutes to play the game saw its third tie in the contest, which is when Monroe turned the heat up on the Texans by scoring seven unanswered. 

South Plains did not panic. 

A three by Spight was followed by a three-point play by Ryan Martin, who moments later tied the game up at 66 all after going 1-of-2 from the line, though he missed his only free throw of the game, finishing 10-of-11. 

With only a minute remaining on the clock, Roderick Lawrence fired a 3 that was off the mark but drew a foul in the process where he knocked down each to give his team a 69-66 advantage. 

As they did all night, Monroe responded again when Jaelyn Johnson-Coston knocked down a jumper on the baseline and drew a foul from Malik Nichols, his fifth. 

Johnson-Coston would complete the three-point play. 

Following a missed three-point attempt by Spight, Sekou Harris sent another Mustang to the charity stripe where Monroe went 5-of-5 in the final minute and 13-of-14 for the game. 

Trailing 73-69, Billydee Williams made a 3-point basket at the buzzer that ended the game 73-72. 

The Texans will now face Laramie County (WY) at 6 p.m. Sunday. 

South Plains (13-1)
Andre Spight 7-22 0-0 19, Billydee Williams 4-9 0-0 9, Sekou Harris 2-7 0-0 4, Malik Nichols 4-5 1-4 9, Clayton Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Emmanuel Omogbo 1-1 2-2 4, Roderick Lawrence 4-11 3-3 13, Cedrick McAfee 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Martin 2-5 10-11 14, Michael Karena 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-60 16-20 72

Monroe (13-0)
Thomas Rivera 2-4 2-2 7, Carlos De Jesus 1-1 0-0 2, Michael Carson 0-0 0-0 0, Khalifa Ndiaye 1-1 0-0 2, Devin Martin 2-5 0-0 5, Nehemias Morillo 1-6 0-0 2, Christopher Regus 2-6 0-0 4, Tyshon Carter 4-6 0-0 11, Jaelyn Johnson-Coston 8-14 11-13 27, Joseph Meade 0-4 0-0 0, Najee Whitehead 2-5 0-0 5, Michael Phillip 1-2 0-0 2, Arkeem Joseph 3-4 0-0 6. Totals 27-58 13-15 73

FG%: South Plains .400, Monroe .466. 3-pt FG:South Plains 8-24 (Spight 5-15, Williams 1-1, Harris 0-2, Lawrence 2-6), Monroe 6-17 (Rivera 1-2, Martin 1-3, Morillo 0-4, Regus 0-1, Carter 3-4, Whitehead 1-3). Rebounds: South Plains 36 (Martin 12), Monroe 26 (Johnson-Coston 6). Fouls South Plains 13, Monroe 14. Fouled out: Nichols Phillip . Technical: none. Assists: South Plains 11 (Nichols 4), Monroe 14 (Martin 4). Steals: South Plains 8 (Harris 3), Monroe 6 (Johnson-Coston 2, Whitehead 2). Blocked shots: South Plains 4 (Williams 2), Monroe 2 (Whitehead 1, Phillip 1). Turnovers: South Plains 18, Monroe 13.