Texans fall to New Mexico Military Institute 79-73 Thursday at the Texan Dome

LEVELLAND —  The South Plains College men's basketball team fell to the New Mexico Military Institute Broncos 79-73 Thursday night at the Texan Dome.

The Broncos improve to 10-7 on the year and 1-3 in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference. South Plains falls to 11-5 on the year and 3-1 in the WJCAC. The Texans will return to the hardwood Monday in Hobbs against New Mexico Junior College at 7:30 p.m. MST.

"I think we were beat on every column of the stat sheet," South Plains head coach Steve Green said. "I felt like whatever it was we needed to do on a certain possession we did not do. We turned the ball over an incredible amount of times. We have too many guys that are inconsistent, and we don't know from one night to the next who's going to do what they normally do."

South Plains shot 50 percent from the floor and held the Broncos to a 40 percent mark from the field, but 20 turnovers on the offensive end was too much to overcome in the final minutes. New Mexico Military utilized 15 offensive boards and capitalized on second-chance opportunities as they outrebounded the Texans 39-33 on the glass.

The Broncos placed four players in double-digit scoring figures as Jordyn Owens scored a team-high 16 points in 29 minutes. Trevelin Queen tallied 15 points despite shooting just 1 of 9 from 3 in 36 minutes. Rosel Hurley finished with 12 points and four boards while Atem Bior recorded 11 points and eight boards in 27 minutes of action.

South Plains' Ben Perez scored a season-high 18 points on 6 of 13 shooting and was 4 of 9 from the perimeter. Isaiah Maurice chipped in 13 points and grabbed four rebounds and Chris Orlina finished with 13 points and five boards in 33 minutes. Sophomore Raymond Doby totaled 11 points and eight boards, knocking down five of his seven attempts from the field while Deshawn Corprew tallied seven points and handed out three assists.

The Texans shot 44 percent from the floor in the front half as they led 33-26 at the midway point. Maurice and Perez combined for 17 points at the break as the Broncos shot just 27 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes.

South Plains would go on to shoot 57 percent from the floor in the second half, but a 59 percent mark from the field in the final stint allowed the Broncos to outscore the Texans 53-40 in the second half. After totaling for just seven points at the break, Owens and Queen combined for 24 points in the second half as the Broncos forced 12 turnovers in the back half.