Texans tame Thunderbirds 69-58 Monday night in Hobbs

HOBBS, N.M. — Isaiah Maurice and Raymond Doby each recorded a double-double as the South Plains College men's basketball team improved to 4-1 in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference with a 69-58 thumping of New Mexico Junior College at the Casper Activity Center.

Maurice netted 13 points to go along with 14 boards and Doby added 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Texas Tech signee Deshawn Corprew bucketed 12 points and corralled seven boards while William Washington chipped in 10 points and grabbed four rebounds in 22 minutes.

"I was trying to play my role and go out on the court with as much intensity as possible," Doby said. "We were looking to crash the boards and get putbacks at crucial times, and this was a game we definitely needed. After that last loss, we knew we had to bounce back and had a job to do, and at the end of the day we're representing South Plains College, and that means a lot to us."

South Plains (12-5) shot 49.2 percent from the floor and controlled the glass, outrebounding the Thunderbirds 46-36. Maurice and Doby combined for 13 points and 12 boards at the midway point as the Texans forced New Mexico to shoot just 27 percent from the field including 3-for-11 from 3 in the first half.

"We were looking to get to the basket and find each other inside," Corprew said. "We knew we had to get the ball inside and have three guys who can score inside anytime we want, and this was a win we needed and had to have. We have a tough one on Thursday against Western Texas and we need to stay focused and get back to work the next couple days."

South Plains couldn't miss in the back half as they shot 63 percent from the floor and forced New Mexico to shoot just 12 of 36 from the field in the final stint. Corprew and Doby netted 15 points in the final 20 minutes and Keith McGee added nine points knocking down 4 of 5 shots from the floor in the second half.

"Coach Green just kept calling plays, and tonight it seemed like whatever he called, worked," McGee said. "We tried to get to the basket as much as possible and finish at the bucket. Coach wants us to get the big guys involved and it seemed like tonight they always found ways to make a play. We played much harder tonight, and we definitely picked it up from last week and had a lot more energy."  

New Mexico's Tavion Robinson finished with 16 points and 13 boards as New Mexico fell to 13-5 on the year and 2-2 in the WJCAC. Damontrez Hawes and Jacob Bodin each scored 11 points for the Thunderbirds while Antonio Morales had eight and Marcell Haskett chipped in six.

South Plains will return to the hardwood on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. when they take on Western Texas College at the Texan Dome. The game will be streaming live at spctexans.com and Michael Wiiest of KLVT Radio Levelland will call the courtside action.