Texans bring the NJCAA crown back to Levelland

HUTCHINSON, Kan. - If there was any doubt as to who the No. 1 ranked team in the NJCAA should be, the South Plains College Texans settled the debate with an 81-68 victory over second-ranked Northwest Florida State Saturday night at the Hutchinson Sports Arena to claim their second national basketball championship in school history and cap an undefeated season.

South Plains will finish the season with a record of 36-0 and are only the sixth team in NJCAA history to run the table.

"This is something I will tell my kids' kids," said Tymell Murphy, who had another big night with eight points and 12 rebounds. "I am very excited and I will cherish this moment for the rest of my life. I am so happy right now."

The game was much closer than the final score indicated.

After jumping out to a 9-0 lead in the opening minutes, the Raiders came roaring back. Trency Jackson gave Northwest Florida State a three-point lead with a 3 that found the bottom of the net with 8:40 to go in the first half.

Deshaunt Walker came up with two big 3-point goals over the next two minutes to put the Texans back on top.

But the see-sawing began between the two teams. Each time the Texans appeared to take command, Northwest Florida State fought right back into it.

"It was a tough game," said Marshall Henderson who finished with a game high 32 points. "We got up with that early lead and they came back. We kept pushing and they kept coming back."

Despite 12 first half turnovers, South Plains took a six point lead to the locker room at halftime.

After the Texans pushed their lead back to 10 points with less than 13:00 to go in the game, Northwest Florida scored 10 unanswered points in a span of 11/2 minutes to tie the game up at 54 apiece.

Stanton Kidd helped South Plains answer by converting a 3-point play followed by another field goal that put the Texans back up five. Henderson nailed his fourth 3 of the game to complete an 8-0 run.

Henderson scored 14 of the Texans' final 21 points in the game, but none were bigger or more dramatic than the shot he made with the clock ticking below two minutes.

As the shot clock was winding down with South Plains leading 76-68, Kidd found Henderson who then heaved a 3 as the buzzer sounded. The ball rattled around the goal before falling in, taking whatever wind Northwest Florida may have left.

"I thought it was going in initially and then it kind of rolled around. When it fell we knew that was game," said Henderson who also finished a perfect 13-of-13 from the free throw line.

"Marshall has hit shots all year long," Texan head coach Steve Green said after the game. "Some spectacular. Some even more spectacular, but probably none that fit the season more than that one did."

Freshman Yanick Moreira helped South Plains outrebound the Raiders by a 51-40 margin with a game and season high 16 rebounds. Moreira recorded double-double efforts the first two games of the tournament and just missed recording two more in the semifinal and championship games. For his efforts Moreira was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

"Yanick is a special player," Henderson said of his teammate.

With game under control, South Plains was able to bring the starters to the bench in the final minute where they were able to celebrate a little early.

"It was definitely the greatest feeling I have ever had as a basketball player," Henderson said regarding the celebrating with his team on the bench. "I've never been on a team so talented."

In addition to becoming only the sixth team to become an undefeated NJCAA basketball champion, Coach Green joined rare company becoming one of only 11 coaches to have won multiple national championships. Three have coached their teams to three titles, while Green becomes only the eighth to have coached their teams to two.

"To win two is probably more of a tribute to the school that continues to allow you to do the kind of things you need to do to compete at this level," Green said.

Northwest Florida State (32-2)
Neiko Hunter 5-15 4-4 15, Chris Jones 3-17 6-7 13, Kerrell Davis 1-2 0-0 2, Chad Donley 0-6 2-2 2, Demetrius Moore 1-2 0-0 2, Shykeem Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Trency Jackson 3-11 0-0 7, Teraes Clemmons 5-11 0-0 11, Rod Rucker 7-13 2-4 16. Totals 25-77 14-17 68

South Plains (36-0)
Deshaunt Walker 2-5 0-0 6, Yanick Moreira 3-9 1-5 7, Derrell Edwards 0-2 0-0 0, Corey Spence 0-2 0-0 0, Devonte Smith 3-4 3-4 9, Stanton Kidd 6-9 2-3 14, Marshall Henderson7-17 13-13 32, Tymell Murphy 4-8 0-2 8, Greg Gainey 1-3 3-4 5, Terrence Durham 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-59 22-31 81

SCORE BY PERIODS	1st	2nd	TOTAL
Northwest Florida State	32	36	68
South Plains	38	43	81

FG%: Northwest Florida State .325, South Plains .441. 3-pt FG:Northwest Florida State 4-28 (Hunter 1-4, Jones 1-7, Davis 0-1, Donley 0-4, Moore 0-1, Jackson 1-5, Clemmons 1-5, Rucker 0-1), South Plains 7-18 (Walker 2-4, Edwards 0-1, Kidd 0-1, Henderson 5-12). Rebounds: Northwest Florida State 40 (Rucker 14), South Plains 51 (Moreira 16). Fouls Northwest Florida State 23, South Plains 16. Fouled out: Clemmons . Technical: Jones, Northwest Florida State Bench, Moreira, Henderson, Durham. Assists: Northwest Florida State 11 (Jones 3, Davis 3), South Plains 15 (Kidd 3, Henderson 3). Steals: Northwest Florida State 6 (Jones 2, Davis 2), South Plains 8 (Smith 3). Blocked shots: Northwest Florida State 1 (Moore 1), South Plains 3 (Moreira 1, Murphy 1, Gainey 1). Turnovers: Northwest Florida State 11, South Plains 18.