South Plains advances in National Tournament after defeating Vincennes
HUTCHINSON – Recently inducted National Hall of Fame coach from, Steve Green showed his coaching talents when he led his No.8 Texans over the No. 9 Vincennes University Trailblazers with an 80-68 win. Andre Spight played a large role leading the Texans with a total of 33 points and teammate Emmanuel Omogbo had 20 points for the Texans.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
37 | 31 | 68 |
|
|
45 | 35 | 80 |
Team Stats
Vincennes University
| Game Statistics | Vincennes University | South Plains College |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (28-78) | (26-54) |
| Field Goal % | 35.9% | 48.1% |
| Rebounds | 41 | 42 |
| Assists | 13 | 12 |
| Turnovers | 5 | 14 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 14 | 7 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 11 | 6 |
| Bench Pts | 22 | 15 |
Photos Tournament Site Watch Live Post Game Interview
South Plains handed the Trailblazers their second loss for the season, knocking them out of the race for the national title. Vincennes had the first two points of the game, but the Texans pulled ahead and lead the rest of the game shooting over 60 percent in the first period.
From the three-point line, Spight had a large flurry of points in the first half. He was 90 percent from the field and 80 percent from the three-point line for a total of 22 points helping the Texans raise their score for an eight point lead heading into halftime.
"I felt good in warm-ups and I knew I wanted to come out aggressive and I wanted to throw the first punch at Vincennes," said Spight. " I wanted to make sure we got off to a good start."
Vincennes came close a few times on meeting the Texans in scoring during the back end of the game. Pulling even at 52, the Trailblazers met the Texans, but Spight put the Texans ahead for the rest of the game with his three-pointers.
The Indiana School (33-2) was ranked No. 1 for all but three weeks of their season, losing in their Region XXIV tournament. The Trailblazers were seeded no higher than ninth coming into the National Tournament. This win advances the Texans to the national quarterfinals for the fourth time in eight years.
"I think we beat a really good team tonight," said Green. "I knew they were good when we watched them on tape, but they really impressed me."
South Plains (27-6) will take on the No. 1 seed, Conners State (32-1) after their win over Tyler Junior College 78-62, the game is Thursday March 19 at 12:00pm, watch live on www.njcaatv.org.