Soares' 21 points lift Texans past Western Texas 64-55 Monday in Snyder

SNYDER — Rivaldo Soares scored a game-high 21 points and snagged six boards as the South Plains College men's basketball team won its sixth consecutive game in league play Monday as they defeated Western Texas College 64-55 at the Coliseum.

Now 16-6 on the season and 8-2 in the WJCAC, the Texans will play current conference leader Clarendon College on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. on Think Pink night at the Texan Dome sponsored by Covenant Hospital of Levelland.

Soares finished 10 of 25 from the field over 40 minutes as the 6-7 freshman from Boston tallied double figures for the fifth straight game. Freddie De La Cruz recorded his second double-double in as many games, totaling 15 points and 11 boards, five coming on the offensive end as the Texans shot a 41 percent clip from the floor against the Westerners.

Paul Person netted 12 points including a pair of crucial 3s in the second half to go along with five rebounds and was 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. Jevonnie Scott scored 12 points coming off the bench for the Texans and also hauled in eight rebounds and hit a pair of 3s in the contest.

South Plains won the battle on the glass, outrebounding Western Texas 52-34 inside and netted 16 points inside the paint. The Texans recorded 12 points on second-chance opportunities and forced 16 turnovers resulting in 13 points on the offensive end. The Texans staggered the Westerners offensively as they shot just 28.3 percent from the floor and were 8 of 25 from distance.

Darius Mickens led Western Texas with the rock, tallying 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists, shooting 5 of 17 from the field and was 2 of 6 from the 3-point line over 35 minutes. CJ Smith finished with 14 points and four steals while Steven Allison had five coming off the bench and Ben Smith chipped in seven points and five boards.

South Plains closes out a four-game road stint that saw the Texans go unbeaten and take sole advantage of second place in the WJCAC and will look to take down the Bulldogs and sit atop the conference standings. Following Thursday's contest, South Plains will be back on the road on Feb. 10 in Roswell for a rematch against the New Mexico Military Institute Broncos, followed by a trip to Hobbs to take on New Mexico Junior College on Feb. 13.