#17 Texans pummel Dallas College-North Lake 90-56

LEVELLAND — Jalen Ricks scored a season-high 22 points Saturday as No. 17 South Plains drummed Dallas College-North Lake 90-56 at the Texan Dome.

The Texans improve to 7-3 on the season and will return to the floor Nov. 29-30 at the Collin County Thanksgiving Classic in Plano.

"We played with a lot of energy and were able to control the game's flow," Ricks said. "Offensively we got in a rhythm and locked in on defense, and everything just went right for us today. We put a focus on effort, intensity, and playing tough, and when we do that we're tough to beat. That's been our main focus, and we will continue to put in the work on both sides of the ball."

Ricks finished eight of 13 from the field and was six of 11 from distance, proving 18 quality minutes off the bench. Issac Taveras totaled 14 points and seven boards while Caleb Blackwell totaled 11 points and four assists over 30 minutes. The Texans shot a 62.5 percent clip from the field and were 14 of 28 from the 3-point line in the contest.

"We have had back-to-back games with our opponent scoring under 70 points, and that's kind of a standard we established last season, and when we hold teams to under that number, and outrebound them, we're going to win games," South Plains head coach Hayden Sowers said. "Coach Mayo did a good job breaking down our film and getting our guys prepared, and on the other side, I can start to see our offense's firepower coming together. We're making some shots and making the right passes, and if we continue to play with effort on defense and play with toughness we can win a lot of games."