The Texans did not waste any time asserting their authority on the floor as Stanton Kidd, Tymell Murphy, and Marshall Henderson all scored buckets in the first 84 seconds to jump out to a 9-0 lead and prompt Temple coach Kirby Johnson to call an early timeout.

South Plains went on to hold the Leopards without a field goal for over six minutes to start the game and led 22-3 at the first media timeout.

By halftime, South Plains had poured in 67 points, leading their opponent by 28 points before finishing the game with the 40 point victory.

Derrell Edwards came off the bench to join Henderson who both finished with 20 points apiece to lead all other scorers. In all, four Texans finished the game with double figures in a game that each Texan player saw significant playing time. Kidd scored 19, Murphy chipped in with 14 first half points, and Deshaunt Walker and Yanick Moreira added 10 each.

"I'm happy for them," Green said of Walker and Edwards, who combined to start 44 games last season. "We have two or three players from last year's team who are really good players. You put them out there with better players and it makes them better."

South Plains (30-0) will next play at 2 p.m. Saturday when they face the New Mexico JC T-Birds for the third time this season. The Texans defeated New Mexico 79-78 on a buzzer beating overtime 3-pointer by Henderson January 26 in their first game as the top-ranked team. They were then in yet another heated battle February 20 at the Texan Dome before finishing the game on a 17-0 run to win 85-60.

Green said he has erased the last two victories over New Mexico from his mind.

"I think they are really good. They drive well. They shoot the ball well, and they are really good inside. They are a tough matchup for us."

New Mexico (23-8) came from behind to defeat McLennan in the first game of the tournament. Trailing 58-51 with 5:24 remaining, the T-Birds went on a 14-0 run to take a seven point lead and went on to win 70-62 to advance to Saturday's semifinal round which will feature all Western Junior College Athletic Conference (WJCAC) teams.

For more information on the Region 5 tournament please visit www.njcaaregion5.com.

Semifinal Games

Saturday, March 10, 2012

12 p.m. (W2) Howard (22-7) vs (W4) Odessa (24-7)

2 p.m. (W1) South Plains (30-0) vs (W3) New Mexico (23-8)

Opening round results

Thursday, March 8, 2012

(W3) New Mexico 70, (N2) McLennan 62

(W2) Howard 85, (N3) Weatherford 57

(W4) Odessa 84, (N1) Ranger 61

(W1) South Plains 115, (N4) Temple 75

TEMPLE (17-14)
Earl Graves 8-19 2-4 19, Antonie Chaney 4-9 3-3 12, DeMarcus Johnson 3-7 0-1 6, Joel Devastey 3-11 2-2 8, Ashton Sanders 3-6 1-4 7, Mark Hopkins 0-3 1-2 1, Chris Adkins 0-2 1-2 1, Brent Reynolds 2-5 0-0 5, Brandon Thompson 3-7 0-0 6, Joe Miles 4-12 2-3 10. Totals 30-81 12-21 75

SOUTH PLAINS (30-0)
Greg Gainey 0-3 0-2 0, Stanton Kidd 7-10 5-6 19, Derrell Edwards 7-10 1-5 20, Deshaunt Walker 3-8 2-2 10, Alex Giraudier 3-4 0-2 6, Anthony Walker 3-4 2-5 8, Terrence Durham1-2 0-0 2, Tymell Murphy 5-5 4-4 14, Marshall Henderson 6-13 3-3 20, Devonte Smith 0-2 0-0 0, Corey Spence 2-2 1-2 6, Yanick Moreira 5-7 0-0 10. Totals 42-70 18-31 115

FG%: TEMPLE .370, SOUTH PLAINS .600. 3-pt FG:TEMPLE 3-14 (Graves 1-1, Chaney 1-4, Hopkins 0-1, Reynolds 1-3, Thompson 0-3, Miles 0-2), SOUTH PLAINS 13-23 (Kidd 0-1, Edwards 5-6, Walker 2-5, Henderson 5-10, Spence 1-1). Rebounds: TEMPLE 46 (TEAM 10), SOUTH PLAINS 42 (Gainey 8, Moreira 8). Fouls TEMPLE 23, SOUTH PLAINS 21. Fouled out: Reynolds . Technical: none. Assists: TEMPLE 6 (Miles 4), SOUTH PLAINS 21 (Smith 7). Steals: TEMPLE 6 (Chaney 4), SOUTH PLAINS 14 (Kidd 4). Blocked shots: TEMPLE 5 (Graves 2), SOUTH PLAINS 4 (Gainey 1, Kidd 1, Henderson 1, Moreira 1). Turnovers: TEMPLE 18, SOUTH PLAINS 14.