LEVELLAND — Four players scored in double figures Thursday, including Jalen Hampton's game-high 23 points as the top-ranked South Plains College men's basketball team pummeled Western Texas 93-59 at the Texan Dome.
The Texans improve to 25-0 on the season and 11-0 in conference play and will be on the road Monday when they travel to Clarendon for a 7:30 p.m. tip at Bulldog Gymnasium. The contest will stream live at spctexans.com.
"Western had a good scouting report, and they focused on Malique and did everything they could to not let him beat them," South Plains head coach Hayden Sowers said. "If we make 11 3s in a game we're going to be really tough to beat. I told these guys at halftime the shots would fall and to keep shooting, and overall this was a good game for us, and we did what we had to do to win tonight."
Hampton finished eight of nine from the field, while also grabbing 12 boards and handed out five assists over 30 minutes. Bryson Ogletree dropped in 18 points, knocking down six of seven shots from the field over 24 minutes. Ewin finished with 12 points. While Jermahri Hill netted 14 coming off the bench for South Plains.
"We knew they were going to double Malique, and one of his strengths is passing the ball, and we knew he would find us," Ogletree said. "They tried to shut him down near the baseline, and he found us outside, and we were able to find open shots. Jalen Hampton is a big part of this team, and he does a lot of grimy things for our team, and he had some big second-chance rebounds for us tonight. He does a lot for us as a team."
The Texans shot a 54.3 percent clip from the field and knocked down 11 3s in the contest. Western shot just 32 percent from the floor and was five of 18 from distance. South Plains will now shift its focus to Monday night when they take on Clarendon in what is sure to be a tough atmosphere in Clarendon.
"I think our team does a good job on locking into the now," Sowers said. "Tonight was the now, film will be the now, and they don't look forward or ahead. We try to maximize each day and stack wins, and hopefully if we do that we will end up where we want to be. We had a great crowd tonight, and our guys really feed off of them, and it really helped us tonight."