Third-ranked Texans travel to Midland on Wednesday for conference opener at 7:30 p.m.

LEVELLAND — The third-ranked South Plains College men's basketball team will begin their quest to defend their Western Junior College Athletic Conference title on Wednesday when they travel to Midland for a showdown with the Chaparrals at 7:30 p.m. at the Al G. Langford Chaparral Center.

South Plains comes into the contest with a 5-3 record and winners of four of their last five. South Plains swept the Chaps a season ago, drubbing Midland 81-65 in Midland on Nov. 30 and picked up a 112-87 win on Feb. 2 at the Texan Dome.

By the numbers:

South Plains: (5-3)      Midland: (3-6)

PPG: 84.1                   PPG: 68.3

FG %: 50.7                 FG %: 44.8

3PT %: 39.0                3PT %: 38.0

FT %: 73.6                  FT %: 70.3

RPG: 33.1                   RPG: 28.3

APG: 14.0                   APG: 14.8

Who to watch:  

South Plains is led by sophomore guard Jordan Brangers who comes into Wednesday's contest averaging 24.4 points per game, shooting 54.9 percent from the floor and 54 percent from the 3-point line. Sophomore guard Greg Shead is averaging 6.4 points and a team-high 6.1 assists per game on the year. University of South Carolina transfer Raymond Doby is averaging 9.2 points and 6.3 rebound per game and Texas Tech signee Deshawn Corprew averages 8.8 points and 6.1 boards per game.

Midland is led by freshman guard Amari Hale who is averaging 14.1 points per game despite shooting just 39.4 percent from the field in nine games. Freshman Kevin Kangu has started all nine games for the Chaps, averaging 13.8 points per game and shooting 44.8 percent from the floor. Sophomore Marquell Fraser averages 12.4 points and 5.3 rebound per game, shooting 53.3 percent from the field and a team-high 81.8 percent from the charity stripe.

Looking ahead:

Following Wednesday night's opener, the Texans will return home on Saturday, Dec. 2 for a 3:45 p.m. tipoff against Frank Phillips College at the Texan Dome. Both games will be streaming live at spctexans.com and Michael Wiiest of KLVT Radio Levelland will call the courtside action.