No. 20 South Plains fall to New Mexico Military Institute 68-60 Monday in Roswell

The No. 20 South Plains College men's basketball team was unable to recover from a 12-point halftime deficit as they fell to New Mexico Military Institute 68-60 Monday night in Roswell.

South Plains moves to 17-7 on the season and 9-3 in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference and will be back on the hardwood on Thursday in Hobbs to take on New Mexico Junior College at 7:30 p.m. MST.

The Texans would shoot a 32.3 percent clip for the game and were 5 of 25 from the perimeter. The Broncos shot 42.1 percent from the floor and were 5 of 21 from distance and 15-for-17 from the free throw line.

Freshman Rivaldo Soares chipped in 17 points for the Texans, connecting on 4 of 7 shots from the floor and was 7 of 8 from the free throw line over 32 minutes. Jevonnie Scott provided 17 points and four boards off the bench, finishing 7 of 13 from the field and was 3-for-4 from the charity stripe. Freddie De La Cruz netted 11 points and snagged six rebounds while Benjamin Bayela poured in eight points and Paul person had five.

The Bronco's Osborn Shema led all scorers with 22 points and 11 rebounds, netting 9 of 12 shots and was 2-for-4 from distance in 36 minutes of action. Jeremiah Barr poured in 10 points and hauled in five rebounds for NMMI while Andrew Cotton had eight and Jermaine Carter tallied six.

The two teams were virtually identical across the stat line, both scoring 28 points inside the paint with the Broncos winning the battle on the glass by a sole rebound, 39-38. South Plains scored 16 points off 13 turnovers from the Broncos and received 47 points from their bench.