#2 Texans run away in second half, top Hinds 96-67 Friday

LEVELLAND — The South Plains College men's basketball team improved to 6-0 Friday, pounding Hinds Community College 96-67 in their opening contest at the Texan Basketball Classic at the Texan Dome.

South Plains will be back on the floor at 2 p.m. on Saturday against Dallas College North-Lake. The contest will stream live at spctexans.com, and admission to the game is free.

"I thought we played well in areas and bad in other areas," South Plains head coach Hayden Sowers said. "The purpose of non-conference is to figure out who you are. We had a lead in the second half and moved in the right direction, and we were able to attack and score in different areas. If continue to pass the ball and share the ball I think we will be tough to guard on offense."

Jabori Mcghee scored a game-high 23 points for South Plains, connecting on nine of 14 shots from the floor to go along with eight assists and six boards over 35 minutes. Jalen Forrest provided a spark off the bench and an outside presence for the Texans, bucketing 21 points and was seven of 11 from the 3-point line over 23 minutes.

"I was able to find some open shots, and we got in a flow on offense and executed what we were trying to do," Forrest said. "We moved the ball like our coaches teach us to do, and our presence inside helped open up shots on the outside. We had a lot of opportunities to get open looks, and I had the green light tonight and it worked out."

Kerwin Prince was a force inside, dropping in 16 points and snagged seven rebounds over 26 minutes. Bryson Ogletree netted eight points and three boards as South Plains shot 55.6 percent from the field and knocked down eight 3s in the second half.

"We started slow but picked things up, and by the half, we were locked in and executed," Prince said. "We were able to get things going inside which helped us get the ball outside and knock down shots. Our game plan was to get in the paint and find ways to create shots inside and get to the free throw line. Jalen is a great shooter, and we need him to knock down shots, and he's doing that for us."