#1 Texans lock down Hawks, remain unbeaten with 74-61 conference win over Howard

LEVELLAND — Kerwin Prince and Jalen Hampton each recorded a double-double Monday as the top-ranked South Plains College men's basketball team outlasted Howard College 74-61 at the Texan Dome.

With the win, South Plains improves to 19-0 on the season and 5-0 in conference play. The Texans are off on Thursday and will return to the hardwood on Monday, Jan. 29 when they play host to Frank Phillips College at 7:30 p.m. at the Dome. The contest will stream live at spctexans.com and admission to the game is free.

"We didn't play well offensively, but when you guard and hold your opponents to less than 35 percent, you can win a lot of games," South Plains head coach Hayden Sowers said. "We ere locked in defensively, and I thought our depth showed up tonight. I knew this team had a lot of depth, and it showed tonight, but we have to continue to work and get better on both sides of the ball."

Prince provided a spark coming off the bench, dropping in 15 points to go along with 13 boards, four blocked shots and three steals over 24 minutes. Hampton poured in 15 points and secured 12 rebounds over 27 minutes. While Jermahri Hill finished with 12 points and six boards.

Jabori Mcghee bucketed 11 points, five rebounds and five assists as the Texans shot a 48.3 percent clip from the field and were 15 off 22 from the free throw line.

"Kerwin and Jalen were the difference on the glass in the second half," Sowers said. "We weren't making shots we normally make, and those guys played with energy and toughness no matter what was going on, and I'm happy for both of those guys. If we play defense the way we did tonight, we're going to be fine, and we can't get complacent and have to find ways to get better and improve each night."

Joey Madimba led Howard with 22 points and six rebounds, while Nate Deer finished with nine points and five boards, and Elijah Terry totaled nine points and three rebounds coming off the bench. The Hawks shot a 35 percent clip from the floor was were just four of 18 from outside in the contest.