The South Plains College men’s basketball team continues to improve their record while fighting for a spot in the National Junior College Athletic Association playoffs.
The Texans pulled off an outstanding 78-75 victory against New Mexico Military Institute on Feb. 12 in Roswell, N.M.
SPC managed to stay out of the reach of the Broncos, and a three-point conversion from Raymond Doby in the last seconds sealed the Broncos’ fate.
At the start of the second half, SPC held a 35-29 lead before the Texans went on a 20-9 run. Keith McGee netted a 3-pointer with 12:23 left to play, which put the Texans up by 17. The Broncos answered with their own 17-10 run, pulling within 10 points of SPC.
McGee slammed a dunk down with 2:02 left to play, bringing the score to 76-64. The Broncos gave the Texans some trouble with a 9-0 run, closing the gap to three points with 41 seconds to go.
Deshawn Corprew was fouled with 29 seconds left and put away two free throws, taking the Texans to a 77-73 lead with 29 seconds left.
Corprew finished the game with 21 points and six rebounds, while Ben Perez ended the night with 19, hitting six 3-pointers. The Texans improved to 17-7 on the season and 9-3 in WJCAC play.
SPC suffered a hard-fought 80-60 loss against Howard College on Feb. 9 at the Texan Dome.
Though SPC started off rough in the first half, Jordan Brangers brought the Texans back to within 10 points in the second half. With 17:51 left, Brangers hit a 3-pointer from the right side of the court, but Howard answered with a basket from Jake Hutchings, bringing the lead to 12 points for the Hawks with 15:20 to go.
Brangers would bring the Texans back to within nine points with a key-three point conversion with 14:50 left to play. Howard answered with two three’s from Jeremy Hayes.
The Hawks shot 55 percent from the floor, and had four players score in double digits. Amari McCray led Howard with 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Hayes tallied 17 points and 13 rebounds. Hutchings finished with 14 total points and five rebounds.
The Texans shot 36.8 percent from the floor and 26 percent from the three-point line. Brangers finished with 22 points, while Doby tossed in 16 points and five rebounds. William Washington had 11 points, and Corprew finished the night with six points. 
The Texans had four players score in double figures in a 85-74 victory against Frank Phillips College on Feb. 5 in Borger.
Brangers led SPC with 24 points and also grabbed five rebounds. Corprew added 18 points, hitting four 3-pointers, to go along with six rebounds and four assists.
Isaiah Maurice chipped in 14 points and five rebounds, while Perez also scored 14 points and added three rebounds and three assists.
The Texans shot 54.9 percent from the floor and 48 percent from the three-point line. Corprew led the team with 14 points in the first half, while Perez and Brangers had 11 points combined in the first 20 minutes. The Texans led Frank Phillips College 36-30 at halftime.
SPC converted on 15 of the 25 attempts in the second half. The Texans shot 60 percent from the floor and 55.6 percent from the three-point line.
On Feb. 1, the Texans started the night against Midland College strong in Levelland, hitting 14 of their 31shots from the field, including seven of 16 from the perimeter, en route to a 75-64 victory.
Corprew scored 12 and Brangers scored nine of his 18 points in the first half, helping SPC to a 39-38 lead after 20 minutes of play.
The Texans held a 52-46 advantage following two free throws from Brangers. In the second half, Midland caught up to the Texans with an 8-2 run to tie the game at 54-54 with 6:23 left in the game.
Maurice hit a 3-pointer on the following possession to put the Texans up 57-54, but Midland answered with their own three-point conversion, tying the game again with 5:38 left on the clock.
SPC trailed 60-59 with 4:32 left to play after a 3-pointer from Midland, before Perez hit a 3-pointer from the right wing and was fouled. He hit the free throw, putting the Texans up, 63-60.
The Texans stayed in the lead for the rest of the game, fueled by a 16-4 run capped off with a three-point conversion from Brangers with 48 seconds left in the game. SPC improved to 15-6 for the year and 7-2 in WJCAC play with the victory.
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