by Kendall Rainer
The South Plains College men’s basketball team suffered their first loss of the season then bounced back for a dominant victory.
The Texans recorded a dominant 99-49 victory against Coastal Bend College on Nov. 16 at Texan Dome, improving their record to 5-1 on the season.
Benjamin Bayela was the top scorer for SPC, as he poured in 25 points on 9-for-10 shooting from the field. He hit all three of his shots from behind the three-point line. The freshman guard pulled down seven rebounds to go along with two assists, two steals and three blocks.
Freshman Rivaldo Soaresput up 21 points off of the bench. He hit eight of his 10 shots from the field, including 3-for-5 from behind the three-point arc. Redshirt freshman Philmon Gebrewhit added 17 points on 5-for-11 shooting from the field, going 2-for-6 from the three-point line.
Sophomore Junior Farquhar put up 10 points, hitting three of his seven shots from the field, to go along with seven rebounds and nine assists. Freshman Bernard Kouma and sophomore Fredelin De La Cruz had eight and six points, respectively. Kouma shot 4-for-5 from the field, while De La Cruz shot 3-for-6.
The Texans shot 60 percent from the floor, as well as 50 percent from beyond the three-point arc. They totaled 44 rebounds, 24 assists and nine steals.
SPC suffered their first loss of the season, falling to Panola College 85-84 in their home opener and moving to 4-1 on the season. The game was held on Nov. 15 at Texan Dome.
Freshman Paul Person hit a free throw to put the Texans’ up 75-72 with 3.5 seconds remaining in regulation play. Panola’s Jermain Drewey launched a 45-foot three-pointer, putting it in the net to tie the game at 75-75, sending the contest to overtime.
The Ponies utilized a 6-2 run to take an early lead on the Texans in overtime. A free throw by Farquhar reduced Panolas’s lead to just one point at 81-80 with less than six seconds left in extra time. SPC fouled Stanton Rose with 2.4 seconds on the clock. Rose missed two free throws, giving the Texans a breath of hope.
Farquhar rebounded the ball just in time to launch a shot from half-court at the buzzer, but he was unable to put it down, as Panola hung on for the victory.
In the loss that went to overtime, SPC shot 40.3 percent from the field and outrebounded the Ponies 54-30.
Soares led the scoring with 17 points, connecting on six of his 11 shots from the floor, including 3-for-7 shooting from the three-point line. Freshman Jarrel Rosser poured in 17 points, hitting six of his 11 shots from the field. He led the team in rebounds with 12.
Freshman Yuot Gai added 12 points, while Person scored 11 points. Gai shot 5-for-8 from the field, while Person hit three of his six shots from the field.
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