Texans hang on to defeat Laramie County 86-80

MESA, Ariz. – Freshman Andre Spight finished with a team high 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field to help the second-ranked South Plains College Texans rebound from their first loss of the season with an 86-80 victory over Laramie County Sunday night at the Fiesta Bowl Junior College Shootout.

Spight was one of five Texans to score in double figures for the game. 

South Plains (14-1) jumped all over their opponent early.  After Laramie County scored the first basket of the game, the Texans went on an 11-0 run.  Though Laramie fought back, the Texans extended that lead to as many as 14 points before settling with a 12-point advantage, 42-30, at halftime. 

The game go interesting as the game reached the midway point of the second half. 

With the Texans maintaining a comfortable 64-53 lead, Laramie County exploded on a 15-3 scoring run that saw them take their first lead since the opening minute of the game, 69-66. 

Texan sophomore Roderick Lawrence promptly tied the game back up as he converted a three-point play after being fouled making a layup. 

The two teams continued to tangle back-and-forth and with two minutes left on the clock Laramie County made a basket that gave the game it's seventh tie, 80-80. 

South Plains would go on to score the final six points of the game thanks to buckets by Lawrence, Sekou Harris and two free throws by Spight to earn the six-point margin of victory. 

The loss drops Laramie County to 11-5 on the season. 

Now that the Fiesta Bowl JC Shootout has concluded, the Texans must now turn their sights to defending WJCAC Champion Howard College in a conference matchup Monday, Jan. 6.  Game time is set for 7:45 p.m.

South Plains (14-1)
Andre Spight 9-12 2-2 26, Billydee Williams 1-4 3-4 6, Sekou Harris 3-7 7-9 13, Malik Nichols 2-3 0-0 4, Emmanuel Omogbo 2-4 2-2 6, Roderick Lawrence 4-11 3-3 11, Cedrick McAfee 4-8 2-3 10, Ryan Martin 1-5 8-10 10, Michael Karena 0-1 0-0 0, Pedro Konofino 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-55 27-33 86

Laramie County (11-5)
Deshon Portley 8-18 5-6 27, Darien Fernandez 2-10 1-2 5, Ben Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Kamari Robinson 2-3 0-0 4, Treyven Gallegos 0-1 1-2 1, Deon Edwin 9-16 3-5 23, Spencer Svejcar 0-2 4-4 4, Martin Dixon-Green 2-3 4-4 8, Kendyl Grover 2-7 2-4 6, Patrick Stephens 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 25-60 22-29 80

FG%: South Plains .473, Laramie County .417. 3-pt FG:South Plains 7-15 (Spight 6-8, Williams 1-3, Harris 0-1, Lawrence 0-1, McAfee 0-2), Laramie County 8-18 (Portley 6-11, Fernandez 0-4, Edwin 2-2, Dixon-Green 0-1). Rebounds: South Plains 30 (Harris 5, Omogbo 5, Martin 5), Laramie County 33 (Edwin 7). Fouls South Plains 22, Laramie County 21. Fouled out: Edwin . Technical: DIXON-GREEN. Assists: South Plains 9 (Harris 6), Laramie County 8 (Fernandez 3). Steals: South Plains 5 (Spight 1, Williams 1, Harris 1, McAfee 1, Karena 1), Laramie County 6 (Fernandez 2, Edwin 2). Blocked shots: South Plains 2 (Lawrence 1, Martin 1), Laramie County 3 (Portley 1, Robinson 1, Dixon-Green 1). Turnovers: South Plains 10, Laramie County 10.