South Plains (14-5, 3-3 WJCAC) found themselves in a deep hole early, trailing 14-1 before Brandon Neel converted the first Texan field goal of the game.
The Texans did gain a little momentum before the end of the half, however. Down 19 with 4:27 remaining, South Plains put together a 10-2 run and the two teams went to the locker room with Odessa leading 33-22.
Things began to look somewhat promising as the Texans quickly reduced their deficit to single digits to open the back half. Just before the 13-minute media timeout, Roderick Lawrence cut the Wrangler lead to six, 39-33, with a make in the paint.
Odessa's Daishon Knight converted a 3 following the timeout that began a 10-0 run by Odessa and pushed the lead back to 16. South Plains could only get to within 11 before falling by a 13-point margin.
Yanick Moreira led the Texans with 15 points and nine rebounds. Moreira only made 4-of-12 shots from the field, but converted 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Terrence Durham came off the bench to add 12 for the Texans, who were held to less than 50 points for the third time this season.
South Plains will look to return to the win column at 7:45 p.m. Monday, Jan. 28 when they host Frank Phillips College (12-8, 2-4) in a contest sponsored by the Holiday Inn Express of Levelland. Live video of the contest will be available at www.spctexans.com.
Two $75 gift certificates have been donated by the Holiday Inn Express and will be awarded to a lucky fan in attendance. One will be given away at halftime of the Lady Texan game, while the other will be given away during the men's halftime. Other gift cards will be given away as well, all courtesy of the Holiday Inn Express.
South Plains (14-5, 3-3)
Terrence Durham 5-8 0-1 12, Yanick Moreira 4-12 7-8 15, Jamaal Samuel 0-1 0-0 0, Darrel Lucky 3-9 0-0 6, Devonte Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Malik Nichols 0-2 0-0 0, Kendahl Amerson 0-2 0-0 0, Forrest Robinson 0-0 0-0 0, Roderick Lawrence 2-5 0-2 5, Brandon Neel 2-4 1-3 5, J.R. Owens 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Martin 1-3 1-4 3, Michael Karena 1-3 0-1 2, Anthony Walker 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-50 9-19 48
Odessa (16-4, 6-1)
Craig Smith 1-5 1-2 3, Austin Barnes 5-10 2-2 13, Daishon Knight 4-14 3-5 14, Deonnte Breedlove 0-0 0-0 0, Ladon Carnegie 5-10 1-4 15, Chris Hooper 1-3 0-0 2, Shondell Stewart 3-5 0-0 6, Levan Shengelia 4-9 0-0 8. Totals 23-56 7-13 61
SCORE BY PERIODS 1st 2nd TOTAL
South Plains 22 26 48
Odessa 33 28 61
FG%: South Plains .360, Odessa .411. 3-pt FG:South Plains 3-10 (Durham 2-3, Moreira 0-1, Amerson 0-2, Lawrence 1-4), Odessa 8-16 (Barnes 1-2, Knight 3-5, Carnegie 4-8, Shengelia 0-1). Rebounds: South Plains 31 (Moreira 9), Odessa 44 (Carnegie 11). Fouls South Plains 16, Odessa 19. Fouled out: none. Technical: BARNES. Assists: South Plains 7 (Durham 2, Lucky 2), Odessa 15 (Smith 8). Steals: South Plains 8 (Moreira 2), Odessa 7 (Carnegie 3). Blocked shots: South Plains 2 (Moreira 1, Lawrence 1), Odessa 1 (Carnegie 1). Turnovers: South Plains 18, Odessa 17.