Jumping out to an 11 point lead, 13-2 six minutes into the game, the Texans looked like they were going to have their way with the Plainsmen. But Frank Phillips battled back and with 3:56 left in the first half they closed the deficit to two points, 25-23.
Regaining composure, South Plains finished the first half with an 8-3 scoring run to go to the locker room up seven points, 33-26.
Two buckets in the opening 20 seconds of the second half by Myles Walker and Tramar Sutherland extended the Texan lead back to 11 points.
With 15 minutes remaining in the contest, SPC held a comfortable ten point lead, 42-32. Over the next five minutes the Plainsmen outscored SPC 15-5 and forced the first tie of the contest, 47-47.
The next two trips down the court for the Texans had Khaliq Gross scoring by way of Josh Orta passes, the second of which was a perfectly timed alley-oop that created a frenzy among the contingent of South Plains College students who made the trip.
90 seconds later Orta completed a 6-0 Texan run when he drove inside the lane and converted a bucket.
FPC's Marlon Ford and DeJuan Plummer answered with back-to-back three point baskets to force a 53-53 tie.
Myles Walker temporarily regained the lead for the Texans before Trevor Niles forced the third tie of the contest, 55-55.
As the Texans fought the full court press of the Plainsmen, guard Tramar Sutherland lost control of the ball and lost it to an FPC defender. Plummer capitalized on the mistake by nailing a three point basket to give the Plainsmen the first lead of the game, 58-55, with just over five minutes left in the game.
SPC sophomore Bo Ingram then scored four points during another 6-0 Texan scoring run that helped South Plains regain the lead, 61-58.
With only 1:40 remaining on the clock and the score tied at 61-61, Khaliq Gross made a strong drive to the basket and was fouled while converting his attempt. Gross then made his shot from the charity stripe.
FPC's Manny Cass then returned the favor on his teams next trip down the court when he was fouled by Gross and finished a three point play to tie the game for the fifth and final time. This is when Smith made one of the most important shots of the season for the Texans to spark a 9-3 run to finish the game and leave with a 73-67 victory.
South Plains College had four players finish ten or more points, led by Gross who scored 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Tramar Sutherland added 16 points and 11 rebounds while Myles Walker and Bo Ingram scored 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The Texans return to action on Monday, February 22 when they host the New Mexico Military Institute Broncos at 7 p.m. in the Texan Dome.