Texans erase second half deficit, top Frank Phillips 70-59

LEVELLAND — DJ Avery recorded a double-double with 11 points and 15 boards as the South Plains College men's basketball team erased an 11-point second half deficit Monday en route to a 70-59 conference win over Frank Phillips College at the Texan Dome.

"We got out of neutral in the second half and finally started making some extra effort plays," South Plains head coach Steve Green said. "We outrebounded them 47-27 on the glass, and there are not too many teams that lose games when you do that. We were so lethargic in the first half trying to figure out how to guard them, it just carried over to the other end of the floor."

Leading 35-34 with just under 18 minutes to go, Frank Phillips ripped off a 10-0 run capped off by a jumper from Jaheim Tankersley at the 14:06 mark of the second half to give the Plainsmen a 45-34 advantage. South Plains answered as Khalifa Sakho blocked a jumper from Frank Phillip's DJ Richardson and scooped the loose ball before running the floor and shaking the rim with a two-handed slam on the other end, part of a 17-7 run that got the Texans within one, 52-51.

The Texans would go on to take their first lead of the second half at the 6:38 mark as Avery dropped in a pair of free throws to put SPC up 56-54. South Plains would then utilize a 14-5 run down the stretch, taking a commanding 70-59 lead with just over a minute to play following a layup from Malik Zachery.

"The sky is the limit for DJ," Green said. "There is nothing he can't do, and when he locks in and decides he wants to be a sensational player, he's a couple of steps ahead of other guys who want to do that. When everyone else goes up for a rebound, he gets up just a little bit higher. It's all a matter of how good he wants to be."

South Plains received 20 points and seven boards from Savion Gallion, his third time eclipsing the 20-point mark this season. Gallion dropped in 7 of 17 shots from the field and was 3 of 6 from distance over 36 minutes. Kieves Turner chipped in nine points and handed out five assists for the Texans, while Sakho totaled eight points and eight boards off the bench.

"It seems like every game for us this year is different," Green said. "We have had to come up with something different each game, and go through spells where we can't get the ball in the basket. Our guys are so focused on scoring as a team, we start to get discouraged. You have to get some easy baskets and loosen up."

SPC forced 19 turnovers in the contest resulting in 16 points on the offensive end, while also netting 30 points inside the paint and 10 points on second-chance opportunities. South Plains received 32 points from their bench while forcing Frank to shoot just 36.2 percent from the floor.

Improving to 13-10 on the season and 7-4 in league play, South Plains will be on the road Thursday in Hobbs to take on New Mexico Junior College at 7:30 p.m. MST, 8:30 p.m. CST.