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HUTCHINSON – One more game stands in front of the Texans before they can claim the National Championship Title for the third time in eight years. The eighth seeded South Plains will advance to the championship after beating Hill College 102 - 90 in overtime in the NJCAA tournament in Hutchinson, Kan.
South Plains has defeated the top two ranked teams in national polls, No. 1 Vincennes and No. 2 Connors State. Putting a second loss to both their records, the Texans headed to the final four on a bumpy road. Their third game led to Hill College, out of Hillsboro, Texas, who were knocked out of the Region V Tournament by Howard College.
Hill and South Plains' game had a nail biting finish; neither team took a large lead, and had close to 14 ties during the game.
Texans were down 40-38 leading into the half until Hill's No. 21, Jemerrio Jones, pulled up for a buzzer-beating two point jump shot at the elbow. Jones led the Rebels with 29 points for Hill College.
"It seemed like we fought from behind, or it appeared to me that we did, almost the entire night," said Green.
Coming into the second half, the game picked up some and seemed like there was a higher energy level. Eight minutes remained in the second half and the Texans were down by two points. Andre Spight pulled up for a shot at the three point line, putting South Plains ahead again by one.
In less than a minute Spight makes another trip down court for a jumper in the paint for two more. These plays, as well as others brought the crowd and team to their feet; almost felt like a turning point in the game.
However seven minutes was enough time for more scoring, ending with 9.4 seconds on the clock, a 79-77 lead for South Plains on the board, and Spight on the free-throw line shooting two. However, missing both free throws gave Hill a rebound and they made a beeline for the goal, putting in two points and setting the score at a tie of 79-79, leading to overtime.
The Texans really took the overtime and used it to their advantage; Spight came out and score the first few points before Hill could make one.
"I had to clear [my mind], clear everything out that just happened and take a few deep breaths," said Spight. "[I] went out there and played like it was zero [to] zero."
Spight led the Texans with 22 points over Hill College, Marlon Jones had 17 points and seven rebounds, Emmanuel Omogbo made 16 points and had 17 rebounds, and David Kadiri had a total of 12 points.
The NJCAA championship game will be Saturday, March 21 at 7:00 pm. South Plains will play the Northwest Florida State College Raiders, the Region VIII Champions and who defeated the Georgia Highlands College Chargers 105-103.