2016-17 Men's Basketball News
HUTCHINSON, Ka.—Day one of the 2017 NJCAA Track & Field Outdoor National Championships got underway at Gowans Stadium on Thursday beginning with the men's decathlon. The Texans' Patrick Johnson currently sits in second with 3817 points, trailing only Iowa Central's Jared Seay who finished the day with 3921 points. Johnson shot out of the blocks and set a new stadium record in the 400 meters crossing the finish line at 48.68. South Plains' Jonathan Witt, who sits in eighth with 3136 points, finished fifth in the 400 meters with a time of 50.82.
LEVELLAND—South Plains College head basketball coach Steve Green is no stranger to post-season awards. Green just completed his 17th season at the helm of the Texans program in 2016, leading his squad to a 32-2 overall record and a third-place finish at the NJCAA Men's Basketball National Tournament. The decorated coach captured his seventh WJCAC title at South Plains thanks to a 16-0 mark in league play.
LEVELLAND—The South Plains College men's basketball team held its athletic banquet in the Texan Club on Wednesday night, celebrating their Western Junior College Athletic Conference title and third place finish at the 2017 NJCAA Men's Basketball National Tournament.
It's every athlete's dream. When the lights shut off in the arena at season's end, the feeling sets in – It's over. 'I'd do anything to play just one more game.' A phrase that gets thrown around often when the feeling becomes reality. For Jordan Brangers, a 6-foot-2 sharpshooter from Radcliff, Kentucky, that wish was granted on Saturday night as he slipped on his No. 23 South Plains College jersey one last time at the 2017 NJCAA Men's Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Game at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
LEVELLAND—After compiling one of the most dominant offensive seasons in school history during the 2016-17 campaign, sophomore sharpshooter Jordan Brangers was named an NJCAA First Team All-American on Thursday. The 6-foot-2 3-point specialist from Radcliff, Kentucky played an instrumental role in helping the Texans earn a No. 1 national ranking for 16 consecutive weeks during the regular season and a birth in the 2017 NJCAA Men's Basketball Final Four. Brangers will get the opportunity to represent the Texans one more time as he was one of 12 sophomores selected to the 2017 NJCAA Men's Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Game which will take place on April 29 at 4:30 p.m. at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
HUTCHINSON, Kan.—Jordan Brangers scored a game-high 20 points and Shawntrez Davis finished with 18 points and seven boards as the South Plains College Texans dismantled the Northwest Florida State Raiders 103-75 on Saturday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena to take third place at the 2017 NJCAA Men's Basketball National Tournament. "I'm a big presence inside if I really play my game, and my team just gave me the ball and told me to go to work," Davis said. "I felt like we needed a big presence down there because we haven't had one in a long time. I told myself to just score the ball every time I touched it."
HUTCHINSON, Kan.—The South Plains College Texans fell to the Eastern Florida State Titans 77-65 in the semifinals of the 2017 NJCAA National Tournament on Friday night at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
HUTCHINSON, KA. — Jordan Brangers made the shot countless times. Unaccompanied inside the 3,300 seat arena known as the Texan Dome adjacent Levelland, Texas. National Championship banners hovering above as his sole witness. Shot – after shot – after shot. The Sophomore from Radcliff, Kentucky prepped himself for the opportunity to keep the Texans' dreams of a third NJCAA Division I National Title a reality.
HUTCHINSON, Kansas—Jordan Brangers scored 18 points and Jahlil Tripp chipped in 14 points and hauled in 10 boards as the second-seeded South Plains College Texans downed the No. 15 seed Panola College Ponies 88-84 on Tuesday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena in the second round of the 2017 NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball National Tournament. "I was able to hit a few shots to start off the game and kind of got cold there going into the second half," Brangers said. "Panola is a very good team and they were face-guarding me basically the entire game. I was able to hit some shots late in the second half and kind of got going for us."
LEVELLAND—The South Plains College Texans earned a No. 2 national seed on Monday to the NJCAA Men's Basketball National Tournament and will face the winner of No. 15 Panola vs. No. 18 Shelton Sate on Tuesday, March 21 at 6:30 p.m. at the Hutchinson Sports Arena in Hutchinson, Kansas. Panola and Shelton State will play at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, March 20.
LEVELLAND—The South Plains College Texans and Lady Texans will look to continue their run through the postseason as each received an At-Large bid on Sunday to their respective National Tournaments.
WOLFFORTH—Small setback for a major comeback. Despite a 49 percent shooting mark, the top-ranked South Plains College Texans fell to Western Texas 82-74 in the semifinal round of the NJCAA Region V Tournament on Friday night at the Tiger Pit. Jahlil Tripp led the Texans with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting over 31 minutes. Josh Webster recorded 17 points, four assists and two blocks for South Plains. Leading scorer Jordan Brangers was held to a season-low eight points, attempting just nine shots in 31 minutes. The Texans were forced into a season-high 23 turnovers and shot just 50 percent from the charity stripe in the contest.
WOLFFORTH—Grantham Gillard liked his chances. With Hill College dead-set on stopping the Texans' dynamic offensive attack and shutting down the likes of leading scorer Jordan Brangers, something had to give – And it did. Gillard scored 13 points in the second half knocking down a trio of 3-pointers within a six minute span as the top-ranked South Plains College Texans downed the Rebels 100-78 in the opening round of the Region V Tournament at the Tiger Pit.
LEVELLAND—After compiling one of the most dominant regular seasons in program history, the South Plains College Texans will enter the NJCAA Region V Tournament as the top-ranked team in the country thanks to a perfect 28-0 record to date including a 16-0 mark in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference. The Texans come into the tournament, which will be held at Frenship's Tiger Pit on March 8-11, as the No. 1 seed in the West. South Plains will matchup against the No. 4 seed out of the North in Hill College at 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 9.
LEVELLAND—Jordan Brangers knew he was close. Ranked ninth in the country in scoring, the sophomore from Radcliff, Kentucky needed just four 3-pointers to break Marshall Henderson's school record of 128 3s in a season. Tack on the title of Sophomore Night in the Texans' regular-season finale against Western Texas, Brangers was ready to get to work. And that he did. Brangers knocked down three treys in the first eight minutes of the contest, the record setter coming at the 11:24 mark of the first half as the Texans capped off a perfect 28-0 regular season including a 16-0 mark in the WJCAC with a 109-76 dismantling of Western Texas College on Thursday night.
LEVELLAND—The top-ranked South Plains College Texans placed four players in double figures en route to a 93-62 dismantling of Clarendon College on Thursday night at the Texan Dome. Jordan Brangers led all scorers with 26 points as the Radcliff, Kentucky native went 8-of-13 from the 3-point line over 23 minutes. Roberto Gallinat went 4-of-8 from the field finishing with 15 points while Shawntrez Davis and Greg Shead each scored 11.
