No. 9 Texans fall to No. 7 Odessa 78-74 in overtime Thursday

ODESSA — Looking to capture a share of the WJCAC title, the No. 9 –ranked South Plains College men's basketball team fell 78-74 in overtime to No. 7 Odessa College Thursday at the OC Sports Center.

South Plains ends the regular season with a 23-5 record including a 12-4 mark in league play, finishing second in the WJCAC. The Texans will look to recreate their postseason magic from a year ago when they tip off against Temple College, the No. 3 seed out of the NTJCAC on Thursday, March 7 at 7 p.m. in the opening round of the Region V tournament at the Moody Coliseum in Abilene.

Deadlocked at 71 after 40 minutes, Gaige Prim gave the Texans a 73-71 lead with 3:42 to play in the extra period with a floater from seven feet. Following a free throw from Prim with 2:10 remaining to put the Texans up three, Odessa responded with consecutive buckets to regain a 75-74 advantage following an Aquarn Butler' runner with 59 ticks left.

Butler would then sink a pair of free throws with under 19 seconds to play as the Wranglers held off the Texans in the final seconds to claim the conference title. Prim finished with 21 points and 13 boards, chipping in 7 of 9 attempts from the floor. Sophomore Trey Wade dropped in 15 points and seven rebounds as the Texans shot 45.3 percent from the field against Odessa.

South Plains' Trevin Wade poured in 13 points coming off the bench, including a 60-foot buzzer beater at the midway point which gave the Texans a 43-32 lead heading into the half. Chris Orlina bucketed 11 points and three rebounds, while Jonah Antonio netted nine points and three boards and Deon Barrett chipped in five.

James Reese led the Wranglers with 19 points on 7 of 12 shooting in 35 minutes of action, while Jalen Hawkins dropped in 13 and Jawaun Daniels finished with 12 points and a pair of assists. Odessa shot a 50.8 percent clip from the floor and were 7 of 18 from the 3-point line.