Turner nets 21, Texans corral Mustangs 97-87 in double overtime Friday

LEVELLAND — The South Plains College men's basketball team picked the perfect time to string together their top offensive performance of the season Friday as the Texans topped Monroe College 97-87 in double overtime at the Texan Dome.

The win snaps a three-game skid for South Plains, who moves to 2-3 on the season and will look to get back to .500 when they host Dallas College-North Lake at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Texan Dome. The contest will stream live at spctexans.com and can be heard on KLVT Radio AM1230.

"I'm happy for our guys, and we need so badly to learn how to win," South Plains head coach Steve Green said. "Maybe they fell into a couple of things they can build on with this one. We need more intelligent play and decision making in crunch time, and we need to continue to play the same way that gets us a lead."

South Plains jumped out to a 35-24 advantage at the midway point as sophomore Jaylin Reed connected on three triples and netted 10 points to lead the Texans in the front half. SPC would continue to find success with the rock to begin the final stint as Eric Coleman Jr., who finished with 21 points and five boards, knocked down a trey with 13:39 to play to give the Texans a 50-37 advantage.

"Made baskets are what it's all about, and our guys hit some big shots early on," Green said. "We were feeling good and playing well, and those points early on were instrumental for us to win this game. Their (Monroe) zone defense never bothered us until the clock started ticking down, and all of a sudden we became five induvial players on the floor."

The Mustangs would come roaring back, utilizing a 16-1 run capped by a jumper from Jerald Campbell with 8:52 to go to give Monroe their first lead, 53-51, since the 12 minute mark of the first half. Trailing by three, South Plains' Kieves Turner deadlocked the game at 59 all with a triple from the top of the key with 6:41 to play.

Both teams continued to find success on the offensive end down the stretch, as South Plains would get a final look with 10 seconds to play. Tytan Newton sliced the Mustang's defense following a timeout from Green but was unable to convert at the rim to send the game into overtime tied at 70.

Trailing 76-73 midway through OT, Turner hit again from the outside, tying the game at 76 with 2:08 left. It wouldn't be the last time as Turner gave the Texans a two-point, 79-77 lead on another 3 ball, this time from the right wing with 22 ticks to go.

"Deuce (Kieves) hit a couple of 3s and we made some offensive plays when we needed to," Green said. "We know where we are, and we don't like where we are. We have to correct this stuff in practice and start correcting our mistakes."

Monroe would answer back once again as Jadon Archer hit from distance to put the Mustangs up 80-79 with 16 seconds remaining. South Plains' DJ Avery would get to the rim on the other end, drawing a foul, and would go on to knock down one of two free throws with four seconds to play, which would send the game into double OT tied at 80.

Notched up at 84 apiece with just under four minutes remaining in the second overtime period, South Plains would rip off an 11-0 run and take a 95-84 lead on an alley-oop from Turner to Khalifa Sakho with 36 seconds left. The Texans would finish the contest a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, outscoring the Mustangs 17-7 in the final five minutes.

Turner finished 5 of 10 from the floor over 36 minutes, dropping in 5 of 8 attempts from distance and was 6 of 7 from the free throw line. Coleman Jr. knocked down 8 of 13 shots over 35 minutes, while Reed tallied 13 points on 4 of 9 shooting. Savion Gallion netted 13 points and seven boards, while Avery and Sakho combined for 21 points off the bench. SPC shot a 47.6 percent (30-63) clip from the field and a 48.5 percent (16-33) from distance in the contest.

Monroe was led by Melvin Council Jr. who scored a game-high 28 points and snagged nine boards. Kyrin Hill netted 23 points as the Mustangs shot 40 percent (32-80) from the floor and 26.1 percent (6-23) from the 3-point line.