#1 Texans top #23 Eastern Florida State 74-70 to win Title One Invitational in Idaho

TWIN FALLS, ID — Arterio Morris and Issac Taveras combined for 41 points Saturday as the top-ranked South Plains College men's basketball team bested #23 Eastern Florida Stata 74-70 to win the Title One Invitational, hosted by the College of Southern Idaho.

"Our guys did a heck of a job coming out here and winning three games against three good teams," South Plains head coach Hayden Sowers said. "We beat two teams that belong in the top 15-20 in the country, and I'm proud of our team. Two win three games in three days after all the travel and getting up to Idaho shows their toughness, both physically and mentally. Anytime a championship is on the line, you want to compete at the highest level and leave everything out there." 

Taveras led South Plains in scoring for the second consecutive outing, knocking down 11 of 16 shots from the floor, and also grabbed a team-high 11 boards over 37 minutes. Morris finished with four rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a pair of blocked shots as the Texans shot a 41 percent clip from the field.

Caleb Blackwell tallied 13 points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals for South Plains, shooting three of eight from the floor and five of five from the charity stripe. Didier Maleng provided six points and five rebounds coming off the bench for the Texans, who improved to 4-0 on the season.

Fredy-Salam Sylla led the Titans with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Felipe Patino and Emondrek Ford each finished with 13 points. Eastern Florida shot 33 percent from the floor, 29.6 percent from distance, and committed 22 turnovers in the contest.

South Plains will be back on the road this week when they travel to Roswell to take on Central Arizona at 6 p.m. MST, followed by a trip to Plano Nov. 15-16.