Christopher Orlina

• Article
• March 24, 2018

HUTCHINSON, Kansas — 40 more minutes. For the fourth time in the last 11 years, South Plains head coach Steve Green has led his team to the final Saturday of the NJCAA Men’s Basketball National Tournament as the Texans look to capture the program’s third national title tonight at 7 p.m. against the College of Southern Idaho. Should the Texans come out victorious, Green will join an elite group of coaches who have won three national titles at the NJCAA Div. I level. The other three include Ronnie Arrow of San Jacinto Junior College, Allen Bradfield of Vincennes, and Joe O’Brien of Southeastern Community College. After defeating five teams ranked inside the top 25 over a 15-day span, South Plains will look for one final performance from a group of players who are battle tested to date, and safe to say they’ve seen just about everything this season.  Without their two leading scorers heading into Friday’s semifinal matchup with Eastern Florida State, the Texans kept pounding the rock defeating the Titans in dominating fashion 89-76 to put themselves in contention for a national crown.

• Article
• March 24, 2018

HUTCHINSON, Kansas — South Plains head coach Steve Green knew his team was capable; it was just a matter of when. That moment arrived Saturday night as the South Plains College men’s basketball team knocked off College of Southern Idaho 98-95 at the Hutchinson Sports Arena to capture the 2018 NJCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship. This marks the programs third national title, all coming under Green who became only the fourth coach in the history of the NJCAA to win three national championships at the NJCAA Div. I level. “With all that we’ve been through this season, we felt like at the beginning of the year we definitely were worthy of playing on the last Saturday night, “Green said. “So many things happened over the course of the season, it started to put doubts in your mind. Then, all of a sudden at the regional tournament for whatever reason we started playing better, and maybe it was because they knew if we didn’t we would have to sack up the basketballs, and you have to give our guys a lot of credit.”

• Article
• March 23, 2018

HUTCHINSON, Kansas — Next man up. Heading into Friday’s semifinal matchup with perennial power Eastern Florida State without two of their leading scorers, the South Plains College men’s basketball team never flinched as they torched the Titans 89-76 at the Hutchinson Sports Arena to advance to Saturday’s national championship game against Southern Idaho at 7 p.m.   In their previous meeting on December 29 in Phoenix, South Plains bested Southern Idaho 69-65. “I thought as what has been the case up here we got off to a really good start,” South Plains head coach Steve Green said. “We hit some shots, and it seems like in the last three games we’ve started off aggressive and the other team has started off a little hesitant, and I think that’s it.”

• Article
• March 22, 2018

HUTCHINSON, Kansas — The South Plains College men’s basketball team held off a late second half run from Connors State as they bested the Cowboys 80-75 on Thursday night at the Hutchinson Sports Arena to advance to the NJCAA Final Four for the third time in the last four seasons. South Plains will meet Eastern Florida State (29-4) on Friday at 6 p.m. with the winner advancing to Saturday’s national championship game at 7 p.m. “I thought this game was a tale of two halves,” South Plains head coach Steve Green said. “I thought we played well the first half and shot it well and rebounded the ball and held them to one shot, then, completely unraveled in the second half. We were very, very fortunate.”

• Article
• March 21, 2018

HUTCHINSON, Kansas — The Texans needed both. Trailing 78-77 with eight ticks left in regulation, South Plains’ Deshawn Corprew stepped to the charity stripe for a one-and-one following a blocking foul called on Salt Lake’s Hunter Schofield. The 6-foot-6 swingman from Norfolk, Virginia made the most of the opportunity, knocking down consecutive free throws to put the Texans up one. Needing one final stand, the Bruins pushed the floor for an opportunity to win it, but Dalven Brushier’s desperation 3 from the top of the key clanked off the side of the rim as South Plains knocked off the fourth-seeded Bruins 79-78 to advance to the Elite 8 against Connors State (31-3) at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

• Article
• March 19, 2018

HUTCHINSON, Kansas — Isaiah Maurice scored a game-high 22 points and Ben Perez poured in 19 as the South Plains College men’s basketball team throttled Highland Community College 91-71 Monday in the opening round of the 2018 NJCAA Men’s Basketball National Tournament at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. With the win, the Texans advance to the round of 16 and will take on fourth-seeded Salt Lake at noon on Wednesday. “We got off to a 15-2 start and kind of separated ourselves,” South Plains head coach Steve Green said. “We made some plays when we had to, and I don’t think we were especially crisp, or sharp. I think they missed a lot of open shots early in the game, and I don’t think we did anything on the defensive end that we should be proud of.”

• Article
• March 10, 2018

WOLFFORTH — The objective was clear: Win, and you’re in. Mission accomplished. Staring down conference foe Odessa College in the Region V title game for a spot in the 2018 NJCAA Men’s Basketball National Tournament, the Texans never flinched, overcoming a 12-1 deficit in the opening minutes to down the seventh-ranked Wranglers 101-92 and capture the 2018 Region V crown Saturday at the Tiger Pit on the campus of Frenship High School. “This is a great feeling because we’ve known all year long we had the potential to do this, and we finally put it all together,” said South Plains head coach Steve Green, who won his sixth regional title with the Texans on Saturday. “I think the benefit of playing a tough schedule paid off for us. We got down today and there wasn’t any quit in these guys and they deserve it, and I’m happy they will get a taste of the national tournament.” Following a 12-1 run from Odessa ceased by a Braxton Shaw’ jumper with 15:00 minutes to play in the first half, South Plains swung back with a 9-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from Deshawn Corprew which brought the Texans (23-8) within two, 12-10. Freshman Keith McGee would give South Plains its first lead of the contest at the 11:47 mark in the front half with a triple from the corner to put the Texans up 17-14.

• Article
• March 09, 2018

WOLFFORTH — Answer back. Following a 14-4 run from No. 20 McLennan to begin Friday’s Region V semifinal matchup, South Plains head coach Steve Green signaled for a timeout. The message over the next 30 seconds seemed to resonate with his team, as the Texans answered the call with a 20-8 barrage capped by a Jordan Brangers’ 3-ball to put South Plains on top 24-22, as they went on to defeat the Highlanders 85-76 Friday at the Tiger Pit to advance to the Region V championship game Saturday at 2 p.m. against No. 7 Odessa. “For the past 48 hours, it seems like our guys were shot out of a cannon,” Green said. “Today, I don’t think we expected the 3-point barrage even though we told them that’s what they could do. I was really shocked it was 14-4, and it happened fast. To our guys’ credit, they stayed composed and started chipping back and got right back in it, fast.”

• Article
• March 07, 2018

WOLFFORTH — The South Plains College men’s basketball team raced out to a 15-4 lead in the opening minutes and never looked back, pummeling Ranger College 89-75 Wednesday in the opening round of the 2018 Region V Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Tiger Pit. With the win, South Plains improves to 21-8 on the year and will take on No. 20 McLennan College Friday at 1 p.m. in the semifinal round. McLennan (27-4) won its opening round matchup against Clarendon 89-68 on Wednesday. “I thought we got off to a great start and played at a really good pace the first four to five minutes,” South Plains head coach Steve Green said. “We were executing and hit some easy shots and built a bit of a lead. They don’t have a lot of size but are scrappy and play hard, and we tried to focus on getting our hands up and making them finish, and for a long time we did ok.” Sophomore big man Isaiah Maurice led South Plains with 20 points and seven boards, bucketing 6 of his 7 attempts from the floor was 7-for-9 from the charity stripe. Jordan Brangers scored 18 points including four 3s to go along with five rebounds and a pair of assists in 40 minutes of action.

• Article
• March 01, 2018

LEVELLAND — The South Plains College men’s basketball team fell to No. 7 Odessa College 83-79 in their final regular season game on Thursday night at the Texan Dome. South Plains moves to 20-8 on the year and 12-4 in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference and ends the regular season as the conference runner-up in the WJCAC. The Texans will now shift their focus to the NJCAA Region V Tournament at Frenship High School in Lubbock March 7-10. The Texans will meet Ranger College in their opening round contest at 3 p.m. on March 7 at the Tiger Pit. “I thought they played much more aggressive than us in the first half,” South Plains head coach Steve Green said. “It seemed like every time they got the ball they scored or shot it missed it and got it back. They got to the rim, they drove us, we just had no answer for them in the first half. I think they started settling and the zone got us back in the game, but we had the ball several times with a four-point deficit and played like a group of guys who’ve never played together.”

• Article
• February 26, 2018

CLARENDON — The South Plains College men’s basketball team placed five players in double figures on Monday night as they clipped the Clarendon Bulldogs 95-86 at the Bulldog Gymnasium. Now winners of six of their last seven, South Plains improves to 20-7 on the year and 12-3 in conference play and will cap off the regular season at home on Thursday against Odessa College on sophomore night at the Texan Dome, with tip slated for 7:30 p.m.

• Article
• February 12, 2018

ROSWELL, New Mexico — Deshawn Corprew netted 21 points and grabbed six boards and Ben Perez poured in 19 points knocking down 6 of 10 attempts from the 3-point line as the South Plains College men's basketball team ousted the New Mexico Military Institute Broncos 78-75 Monday night at the Cahoon Armory. South Plains improves to 17-7 on the season and 9-3 in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference and will host New Mexico Junior College at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 15 on Hockley County Schools Employee Credit Union Night at the Texan Dome.

• Article
• December 29, 2017

MESA, Ariz. — Jordan Brangers scored 18 points and Isaiah Maurice poured in 16 as the South Plains College men’s basketball team snapped ninth-ranked College of Southern Idaho’s 13-game win streak with a 69-65 win on Friday in the semifinals of the Fiesta Bowl Junior College Shootout.

• Article
• December 28, 2017

MESA, Ariz. — The South Plains College men’s basketball team placed four players in double figures on Thursday as they opened the second half of the season with an 85-81 win over Snow College at the Fiesta Bowl Junior College Shootout at Heap Gymnasium.

• Article
• December 02, 2017

LEVELLAND — The third-ranked South Plains College men’s basketball team utilized a balanced offensive attack with three players inking double figures as the Texans improved to 7-3 on the year and 2-0 in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference with a 93-59 drumming of Frank Phillips College on Saturday at the Texan Dome.

• Article
• November 17, 2017

LEVELLAND — The third-ranked South Plains College men’s basketball team placed three players in double figures as they torched the North Lake College Blazers 79-59 on Friday night at the Texan Dome to improve to 3-2 on the year.