Ewin drops 32 as #1 Texans quiet Thunderbirds 85-76

LEVELLAND — Malique Ewin scored a career-high 32 points as the top-ranked South Plains College men's basketball team improved to 23-0 Thursday with an 85-76 conference home win over New Mexico Junior College at the Texan Dome.

South Plains improves to 9-0 in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference and will be on the road Monday when they travel to Roswell, for a 6:30 p.m. MST tip against New Mexico Military Institute.

"I've been at this level for eight years, and Malique's effort tonight was one of the better performances I've seen in regards to taking over a game," South Plains head coach Hayden Sowers said. "When you have a guy who's 6'11 coming off ball screens and making passes like he does, that's a heck of a performance, and I'm glad he's on our team and representing us."

Ewin finished 11 of 13 from the field over 33 minutes while also grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out five assists. Jermahri Hill netted 19 points to go along with six boards, four assists, and three steals as the Texans shot a 54 percent clip from the field in the contest.

"Jermahri is a good player and he is really talented," Sowers said. "Credit to him, and our assistant coaches have been breaking down a lot of film, and what he has done the last two games is not easy. He was struggling individually, and the past two games he's trusted his work and played like the player we know he is."

Kerwin Prince finished with 12 points and seven boards for South Plains, while Bryson Ogletree added nine and Jalen Forrest chipped in five. South Plains netted 40 points inside the paint and 13 points off turnovers in the contest.

"Our point guard was out tonight, and I just tried to put the team on my back," Ewin said. "Jermahri was ready, and we told him he had to control the offense and point guard spot. We knew tonight was going to be tough, and I really tried to move the basketball and find open spaces. I put in as much work as possible every day, and playing against our guys in practice really does a lot for me personally."