Adversity can reveal one of two things; character, or a lack thereof.
After dropping four of their first eight games and beginning the 2015 campaign with a 4-4 record, the South Plains College Texans showed their true colors.
It was a game the Texans controlled for the first 30 minutes, a two-point loss on a final second bucket from Seward's Niem Stevenson as the clock hit zero. South Plains had a 14-point lead in the first half, which they held until the Saints took their first lead with under nine minutes left in regulation.
The Texans watched a dominating first half slip away as the Seward players stormed off the court following Niem's buzzer-beater on November 18 at the Texan Dome.
It was a game with an end result that could make or break a team, and a season. Coincidentally, this team chose to answer back. And answer back they did.
South Plains has put together six consecutive wins since their last loss, beginning with an 81-68 rout of Collin County on November 20. The Texans have outscored their opponents 517-374 over the past six games, and are averaging 81 points-per-game and shooting nearly 47 percent from the floor on the year.
"Our defense has improved since the beginning of the season, and right now we have a lot of players making contributions," South Plains head coach Steve Green said. "It's nice to be getting contributions from a lot of different guys, and I'd like to see that continue in Arizona."
Led by sophomores Deontae North and Che Bob, who are averaging 12 points and 17 points-per-game, respectively, the Texans will look to stay in the win column when they travel to Mesa, Arizona for the 2015 Fiesta Bowl Junior College Shootout, beginning on December 28 with the Texans matching up against Williston State at 4 p.m.
With five freshmen on the current roster, including Roberto Gallinat and Justice Green who average nine points and five points-per-game, respectively, coach Green knows his young players will play a major role as the Texans continue to develop early on.
"Christmas is a big turning point for freshman," Green said. "They go home and come back with a different approach, a little more focused and not just walking around wide eyed. I'm glad to see almost all of our freshmen have had a little success to this point, and hopefully they can come back and build on it.
"We have some good young guys who are going to be really good players. Montell McRae has played well, and Taelin Webb has really been a bright spot with his ability to attack the basket. Deontae North has stepped up and become a sold two guard for us. We do have some decencies and be exposed at times, but I feel like we can be as good as anybody when we play well."
You can watch the Texans play live in Arizona on the spctexans.com website, and can get live updates by following the SPC athletics Twitter page, @spctexans.