"We will not play a better basketball team than the one we beat tonight," Texan head coach Steve Green said following the net-cutting ceremony. "We may play someone as good. I hope not, but we will not play a better team."

Green said he did not like the draw the Texans received as the No. 1 seed.

"I have been a nervous wreck for about three or four days," Green said. "The only time I have really relaxed is when we were up 22-1 against Temple, but I could not really enjoy that because I knew what lay ahead."

South Plains had to defeat WJCAC foes New Mexico and Howard for a third time each to continue their season.

With the score knotted up at 12, the Texans made the first surge with an 8-0 run that began with the first of Marshall Henderson's eight 3-point goals. Deshaunt Walker - who came off the bench to score all 11 of his points in the first half - hit a deep two-point goal and then capitalized on a steal by Yanick Moreira and hit a 3-point field goal on the following possession.

South Plains would extend their lead to 10 points four times.

Up 36-26 with less than six minutes remaining in the first half the Hawks fought their way right back into the game.

Jacob Thomas nailed a deep 3 after a turnover by Henderson and Calvin Godfrey tied the game for the Hawks with just over two minutes remaining in the first half. SPC's Devonte Smith halted the 10-0 Hawk run with a made floater after driving the lane.

Shavon Coleman tied the game and then gave Howard a three-point lead with a 3 from the far corner with only 36-seconds remaining.

Snugly defended, Henderson answered with a deep 3 of his own.

It appeared the game would be deadlocked at halftime, but with only four seconds remaining after Henderson's 3, Coleman dribbled up and sank a half-court shot at the buzzer to give the Hawks a 44-41 lead.

The two teams duked it out for the first 12 minutes of the second half as the Texans could not muster more than a five-point lead.

After Coleman helped Howard regain the lead with a 3 at the nine minute mark, the Texans tried to regain control of the momentum. Tymell Murphy snagged a Henderson miss and fedStanton Kidd to begin a run that would see South Plains take a nine point lead after Henderson rebounded a 3 that was blocked and then made Howard pay by sinking his next attempt making it a 74-65 South Plains lead.

As they usually do, Howard answered and pulled back to within a single point with just over two minutes remaining.

Henderson came off a screen and took a dish from Smith to knock down his final 3-point goal of the game with 1:51 to go.

Sophomore Greg Gainey had perhaps the play of the day on the next Hawk possession when he swatted away an attempt by Coleman in the paint. Henderson grabbed the rebound and hustled down the court before pulling up to knock down the last of his game high 32 points, giving the Texans 79-73 advantage.

Howard would not score again until only 21 seconds remained in the game and Calvin Godfrey made 1-of-2 from the free throw line, cutting South Plains' lead to nine. Moreira made the score 84-74 with a 1-of-2 trip from the line of his own and the game ended when Tymell Murphy grabbed Thomas' missed 3 and held onto the ball as time expired.

Henderson made 12-of-21 field goal attempts, including 8-of-15 from beyond the 3-point arc to lead five Texans scoring in double figures. Murphy and Moreira each added 12 and Moreira also grabbed a team high seven rebounds. Walker scored all 11 of his points in the first half, and Devonte Smith had an all-around game with 10 points, eight assists, and six rebounds.

The Texans will return to the NJCAA National tournament - held at the Hutchinson Sports Arena March 20-24 for the - for the first time since winning it all in 2008. Live video of the games will be broadcast over the internet at www.njcaa.org.

HOWARD (23-8)
Shavon Coleman 7-21 5-6 22, Zech Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Chad Posthumus 0-0 0-0 0, Damion McGee 1-1 0-0 3, Phillip Miller 4-11 1-3 10, Calvin Godfrey 5-10 5-6 15, Jacob Thomas 6-14 2-2 18, Rico Richardson 1-4 0-0 2, Leon Cooper 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 26-65 13-17 74

SOUTH PLAINS (32-0)
Greg Gainey 0-0 2-2 2, Stanton Kidd 2-5 1-3 5, Deshaunt Walker 4-7 0-0 11, Anthony Walker 0-0 0-0 0, Terrence Durham 0-0 0-0 0, Tymell Murphy 4-8 2-4 12, Marshall Henderson 12-21 0-0 32, Devonte Smith 4-8 1-2 10, Yanick Moreira 3-7 6-9 12. Totals 29-56 12-20 84

FG%: HOWARD .400, SOUTH PLAINS .518. 3-pt FG:HOWARD 9-28 (Coleman 3-10, McGee 1-1, Miller 1-6, Thomas 4-8, Richardson 0-2, Cooper 0-1), SOUTH PLAINS 14-27 (Walker 3-6, Murphy 2-2, Henderson 8-15, Smith 1-4). Rebounds: HOWARD 37 (Coleman 13), SOUTH PLAINS 36 (Moreira 7). Fouls HOWARD 20, SOUTH PLAINS 17. Fouled out: Kidd . Technical: none. Assists: HOWARD 10 (Richardson 4), SOUTH PLAINS 15 (Smith 8). Steals: HOWARD 4 (Coleman 1, Miller 1, Godfrey 1, Thomas 1), SOUTH PLAINS 2 (Henderson 1, Moreira 1). Blocked shots: HOWARD 1 (Godfrey 1), SOUTH PLAINS 3 (Gainey 1, Walker 1, Moreira 1). Turnovers: HOWARD 9, SOUTH PLAINS 13.