#5 Texans rout Midland 81-65 on Wednesday night in Midland

MIDLAND, Texas—Style points hold little value in conference road games.

The South Plains College men's basketball team earned theirs, however, as the fifth-ranked Texans downed Midland College in stellar fashion on Wednesday night with an 81-65 road win at the Al G. Langford Chaparral Center.

"I thought Midland played well and I knew they would play well because they've won three in a row," South Plains head coach Steve Green said. "They have a lot of good athletes and they're a really good team. We hit a couple of shots and got a lead, and I felt like they needed to slow the game down, and they did. I think our depth was a big key to this tonight."

South Plains' Jordan Brangers led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting and was 5-for-9 from behind the arc. Josh Webster finished the contest with 16 points and six assists for the Texans (9-0, 1-0), while Roberto Gallinat totaled 12 points and three boards.

The Texans shot 47 percent from the floor in the first half and scored 18 points off 12 Chaparral' turnovers in the first 20 minutes. South Plains would carry a 43-34 lead in the locker room at the half, one they would never relinquish.

"Our first half was a little shaky, but we played well in the second half," Brangers said. "It was our first conference game of the year, and playing at a place like Midland we knew it would be tough. Midland is a very tough team, and knowing we had to play at their place, we knew we had to bring our game to win."

South Plains would come out and shoot 50 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes and held the Chaps (7-6, 0-1) to a 37 percent shooting percentage in the second half. Brangers and Webster combined for 21 points in the final stint, and Shawntrez Davis chipped in six of his 10 points in the final frame while providing a presence inside the paint for the Texans.

With a huge test now in the rear view, the Texans will look to remain perfect on Dec. 3 when they take on Frank Phillips College at 3:45 p.m. at the Texan Dome.

"This is the most important win of the year because we're 1-0 in the league," Green said. "The other wins we had put us in the polls, and this one keeps us there, but the best way to the national tournament is to win your league and win the region. The second best way is to have a great conference record, so it couldn't have come at a better time."