Texans Thump Broncos At The Texan Dome

LEVELLAND— Regardless of who took the shot, South Plains College head coach Steven Green wanted to see his offense facilitate the basketball and find the open look.

It's safe to say his team got the message, as the Texans drummed New Mexico Military Institute 99-64 Monday night at the Texan Dome to improve their record to 12-6 on the season and 3-2 in the WJCAC conference.

"I put in a lineup of guys that were willing to make the next pass," Green said. "We've been preaching it and preaching it and preaching it, and they hadn't been listening. So the guys that didn't want to pass the ball as much, I let them sit over there with me and watch the guys that did."

Following a 14-2 run from the Broncos to open the contest, the Texans answered back midway through the first half with a 13-2 run of their own, capped off by a free-throw from Roberto Gallinat to bring the Texans within one point, 16-15.

South Plains would then go on to take their first lead of the game with 6:10 remaining in the first frame following a pair of free-throws from Diamante Langston, giving the Texans a 28-27 lead, which they never surrendered.

With just a second left in the first half, freshman Jerron Love set the tone for the Texans for the remainder of the game when he connected a three-pointer from the top of they key as time expired in the first half, giving South Plains a 40-32 lead at the break.

"Basically coming out, the object was to have fun and share the ball," Love said. "I know that as a point guard if I get my teammates involved, they'll look for me back. Coach Green's definitely stressing sharing the ball, and we know if we do that, we're going to be the best we can be."

Love's three at the end of the first period was part of a 23-0 run from the Texans that lasted through the first six minutes of the second half. Love's team-high 20 points and five three-pointers led all scorers in the contest, and Justice Green finished with 19 points and 12 boards for the Texans.

Sophomore forward Marlon Jones finished with a 13-point ten rebound double-double performance for South Plains, while Langston had 12 points, six rebounds and six assists on the night.

"I try to make sure I bring my best effort to the court and help my team," Justice Green said. "I saw how we started off pretty slow, so when we got the next group in, I'm trying to make sure we pick it up on the offensive and defensive end. I just find my place when I can shoot, or when I feel like I need to make a play for the team."

South Plains shot over 53 percent from the field in the second half (15-28) while forcing the Broncos (8-10, 0-5) to mange a 28 percent shooting percentage over the course of the game. The Texans out-rebounded the Broncos 55-44 on the glass, while also causing 18 turnovers in the contest.

After dropping their previous two games by a total of four points to Odessa and New Mexico Junior College, the Texans answered back in a major way heading into their next conference stint when they travel to Howard College on Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.

"We have two scoring guards who went out to Arizona and had really good tournaments, and they've home ever since then and everything has been me, me, me," Steve Green said. "I just played some guys tonight who don't think that way, and I hope I can get the message across to them."