Texan Mosaic

by JOSHUA RAMIREZ/Sports Editor

South Plains College men’s basketball players received national recognition following the finale of the 2015-2016 basketball season.

Jerron Love, Che Bob, Marlon Jones, and Deontae North all earned a spot on the Western Junior College Athletic Conference All-Conference team for their play during the regular season.

Love, a 5-foot-10 freshman guard from Yonkers, N.Y., was named Freshman of the Year in the WJCAC for his conference play. Love averaged 7.0 points per game and shot 47 percent from behind the three-point line. He finished the season with 11 double-digit scoring games.

“He came on mid-way during the season,” said Steve Green, head men’s basketball coach at SPC. “He started playing better at the one…So we gave him a chance, and he took advantage of it.”

Bob, a 6-5 sophomore forward from Charlotte, N.C., was named Newcomer of the Year in the WJCAC. Bob averaged 15 points and eight rebounds in 28 games, while converting 49.8 percent of his shots from the field and 71.4 percent of his shots from the free-throw line.

Jones, a 6-9 sophomore forward from Chicago, Ill., earned All-Conference honors after averaging 10 points per game. He scored on 58 percent of his shots from the field and 78 percent from the free throw-line.

North, a 6-4 sophomore guard from Corona, Calif. averaged 12 points per game and finished the season shooting 40.3 percent from the field. He also converted 70.1 percent of his shots from the free-throw line.

The Texans finished the regular season 21-9 overall. They fought with Odessa College for the top spot in the WJCAC for most of the season but fell just short, finishing second with a 12-4 conference record. The Texans qualified for the Region V tournament on March 2 – March 5 as a second seed, but were eliminated in the first round of tournament play following a 90-85 overtime loss to Hill College on March 2 in Brownwood.

“We had some good individual awards this year,” said Green. “The team had some success, but it wasn’t exactly what we wanted…but we had some pretty good players.”