Texans take conference opener over Midland College, remain undefeated

South Plains, who last defeated the Chaparrals in the semi-final round of the 2008 Region 5 tournament, scored the first five points of the game thanks to a hook shot in the paint by Yanick Moreira which was followed by the first of Henderson's five three point baskets. Henderson would go on to score eight points in the opening 4-minutes, 19-seconds of the game to help SPC to an early 10 point lead, 14-4.

Midland answered with a 9-0 scoring run to pull within a single point at the 12:05 mark and took their first lead of the game thanks to a two-point field goal by Brandon Maclin as the clock neared the midway point of the first half. The Chaps then capitalized on a Henderson turnover to claim what would turn out to be their largest lead of the game, 19-16.

South Plains would dominate the remainder of the first half to take a commanding halftime lead, 38-26.

The Chaps - who outrebounded the Texans by a 20-9 margin on the offensive end - took advantage of second chance opportunities early in the second half to claw back into the game as all six of Midland's points to open the second half came after a missed shot. Only five minutes into the second half Midland found themselves within five points of South Plains, but sophomore Malcolm Miller helped the Texans regain a double-digit lead with back-to-back field goals, the latter a three-pointer.

South Plains would not allow the Chaps to get any closer than seven points for the remainder of the game as they went on to win by a 16 point margin.

The Texans played stellar defense, collecting 17 steals and swatting away nine blocks while allowing Midland to make only 19-of-68 (.279) shots from the field. Midland made only 12-percent of their 3-point attempts.

Henderson was 8-of-21 from the field and 5-of-13 from downtown and also dished out four assists in 27 minutes of playing time. Freshman point guard Devonte Smith played the entire game scoring a season high 10 points, and grabbing five rebounds. Smith also had four steals and four assists. Miller and Moreira each had nine points while Moreira also swatted away four shots, grabbed eight rebounds, and picked up three steals.

South Plains (16-0, 1-0) will play their first conference home game on Thursday, January 19 when they play host to the Odessa College Wranglers (16-1, 1-0 WJCAC). Tip-off is set for 7:45 p.m. and live video of the contest will be available at www.spctexans.com.

Thursday's game sponsor is McDonald's of Levelland, who has donated tickets to every student in Hockley County. Tickets to Thursday's game will be delivered to the superintendent's office Tuesday and Wednesday. 

South Plains (16-0)
Deshaunt Walker 2-9 0-0 5, Yanick Moreira 2-8 5-6 9, Devonte Smith 3-5 4-5 10, Stanton Kidd 3-5 0-0 6, Marshall Henderson 8-21 1-2 22, Tymell Murphy 2-6 1-4 5, Malcolm Miller3-4 2-4 9, Darius Harris 0-2 0-0 0, Anthony Walker 1-2 2-2 4, Alex Giraudier 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-62 15-23 70

Midland (12-3)
Colan Weasby 1-2 0-0 2, Jarekious Bradley 4-14 2-4 12, Willis Nicholson 2-8 0-0 4, Tre Bowman 2-8 4-4 9, Brandon Maclin 3-7 1-3 7, Kelvin Agee 2-8 0-0 4, Majok Majok 2-7 5-8 9, Anthony Norris 0-2 0-0 0, Brandon Lucas 3-6 0-0 7, Melvin Tabb 0-6 0-0 0. Totals 19-68 12-19 54

FG%: South Plains .387, Midland .279. 3-pt FG:South Plains 7-23 (Walker 1-7, Kidd 0-1, Henderson 5-13, Miller 1-2), Midland 4-26 (Weasby 0-1, Bradley 2-7, Nicholson 0-5, Bowman 1-3, Maclin 0-3, Agee 0-3, Majok 0-1, Lucas 1-2, Tabb 0-1). Rebounds: South Plains 41 (Murphy 9), Midland 53 (Majok 12). Fouls South Plains 17, Midland 18. Fouled out: none. Technical: none. Assists: South Plains 13 (Smith 4, Henderson 4), Midland 7 (Agee 4). Steals: South Plains 17 (Kidd 6), Midland 8 (Bradley 2, Nicholson 2, Agee 2). Blocked shots: South Plains 9 (Moreira 4), Midland 1 (Nicholson 1). Turnovers: South Plains 17, Midland 23