Texans tame Bulldogs 95-86 Monday in Clarendon

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.

Sophomore Jordan Brangers led the Texans with 20 points, dished out a team-high seven assist, recorded four steals and hauled in five boards in 40 minutes of action. Isaiah Maurice tallied 14 points and nine boards for South Plains, knocking down 7 of 9 attempts from the field.

Freshman Keith McGee netted 14 points to go along with six assists as he was a perfect 3-for-3 from the perimeter. Christopher Orlina tallied 14 points, five boards and four assists for the Texans and Ben Perez chipped in 11 points and was 3 of 5 from behind the arc.

"This was a big win," Brangers said. "Any time you come on the road to play Clarendon, they're going to be ready. They were 11-1 at home this season, and it's definitely good to get some type of momentum going into Thursday's game against Odessa. Everyone was getting touches and found good looks, and that helped us knock down shots and facilitate the ball."

South Plains would go on to shoot 51.6 percent from the floor and forced the Bulldogs to shoot just 42 percent from the field and 8 of 37 from the perimeter. Perez knocked down a 3-ball with 19:03 to play in the first half to give the Texans an early lead, one which they wouldn't surrender over the next 39 minutes.  

The Texans would go on to lead by as much as 18 midway through the second half as they shot 58.6 percent from the field in the back half of the contest and forced Clarendon to shoot 4 of 19 from 3 in the final 20 minutes. McGee and Brangers combined for 26 points and nine assist in the second half as the Texans knocked down six 3s down the stretch.

"Coach Green let us know how big this game was for us, so we tried to flow as a team and do as much as possible for each other," McGee said. "We tried to execute what we've been focusing on in practice, and coach Green stayed on us and we were definitely prepared for what they were going to do. We did what we had to do team wise and the offense never seemed to slow down."

David Carter led Clarendon (18-11, 8-7) with 21 points and 22 boards, knocking down 9 of his 17 attempts from the floor. Donovan White Jr. chipped in 14 points and Reece Brooks tallied 13 points and four assists for the Bulldogs.