Texans outlast Murray State, 63-59
Moreira – who recently inked a letter of intent to play in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex with the SMU Mustangs – also swatted away five blocks to tie his season high.
After opening up a game high 14-point lead over Murray State in the first eight minutes of the game the Texans went flat, allowing their opponents to get to within two, 23-21, with 5:54 to go in the first half.
The Texans would go to the locker room with a 34-30 lead following a field goal in the paint by Michael Karena.
Freshman Roderick Lawrence gave the Texans their biggest lead of the second half, 52-43, with a second chance field goal with 8:08 left on the clock.
Lawrence's biggest shot of the game, however, came at the 4:47 mark when he nailed a 3 following a steal by Darrel Lucky. The bucket put the Texans back up by seven and Murray State would be unable to get any closer than four for the remainder of the contest.
The Texans made 22-of-58 shots as a team, but converted only 3-of-18 from beyond the arc. Though it was close most of the way, South Plains never trailed in the game.
With the win, South Plains improves their record to 7-0 on the season and extends their winning streak to 43 games dating back to last season.
The Texans next test will be Carl Albert College, scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at www.spctexans.com.
Murray State ( )
Timothy Smallwood 0-7 2-2 2, Quincell Rahmings 3-9 0-0 8, Keith Scruggs 0-1 0-0 0, Dante Wartson 2-7 3-6 7, Dvonte Davis 11-16 12-14 36, Dusan Pantovic 2-4 0-0 4, Tray Jordan 0-2 2-4 2. Totals 18-46 19-26 59
South Plains (7-0)
Terrence Durham 0-1 0-0 0, Yanick Moreira 9-16 7-8 25, Jamaal Samuel 0-3 0-0 0, Darrel Lucky 0-2 0-0 0, Devonte Smith 1-4 3-4 5, Malik Nichols 0-2 1-2 1, Kendahl Amerson 3-7 1-2 8, Forrest Robinson 0-0 0-0 0, Roderick Lawrence 5-12 2-3 14, Brandon Neel 1-5 0-0 2,J.R. Owens 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Martin 1-1 1-2 3, Michael Karena 1-3 0-0 2, Anthony Walker 1-2 1-2 3. Totals 22-58 16-23 63
SCORE BY PERIODS 1st 2nd TOTAL
Murray State 30 29 59
South Plains 34 29 63
FG%: Murray State .391, South Plains .379. 3-pt FG:Murray State 4-13 (Smallwood 0-3, Rahmings 2-4, Scruggs 0-1, Davis 2-4, Pantovic 0-1), South Plains 3-18 (Moreira 0-2, Lucky 0-1, Smith 0-2, Amerson 1-4, Lawrence 2-7, Neel 0-2). Rebounds: Murray State 35 (TEAM 9), South Plains 37 (Moreira 9). Fouls Murray State 17, South Plains 23. Fouled out: Amerson . Technical: none. Assists: Murray State 6 (Davis 2), South Plains 13 (Smith 3, Lawrence 3). Steals: Murray State 6 (Davis 3), South Plains 9 (Moreira 2, Amerson 2). Blocked shots: Murray State 1 (Pantovic 1), South Plains 8 (Moreira 5). Turnovers: Murray State 17, South Plains 14.