HOBBS– The South Plains College Texans picked up their ninth win in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference on Monday night, downing the New Mexico Junior College Thunderbirds 84-80 in Hobbs.

Now 7-1 in their last eight conference games, the Texans' victory breaks a three-way tie with New Mexico (18-8,8-4) for first place in the WJCAC, with South Plains (18-7, 9-3) and Odessa College both sitting at nine wins with just four games remaining in the regular season.

"I thought we stepped up and made the plays when we had to make them," South Plains head coach Steve Green said. "Deontae got us off to a great start, and Jerron had another good game. I think all in all, we had to make the plays, and we did."

North capped off an early 11-0 run from the Texans with a seven-foot jumper from the right side. The 6-foot-4 sophomore guard would finish the first half with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, and carried South Plains to a 36-27 lead at the break.

"I think this was a big win for us tonight," North said. "We wanted to come out and play hard and control our own destiny, and I think we came out and did that successfully. This is big, because now we just have to win out, and we're back in control."

Both offenses proved to be both efficient and effective in the final 20 minutes, as the Texans shot 56 percent from the floor in the second half, with Che Bob racking up 19 points and four rebounds for South Plains. Jerron Love went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe and 3-of-4 in the final frame, finishing the contest with 18 points and also dished out five assists.

"They brought it tonight, and we were expecting that, but I think our team is becoming tougher each game," Love said. "We knew we had to win tonight, and we came out and handled our business. We have to listen to coach Green and continue to bring it every night. Every game is a must win."

South Plains would lead by as much as 11 in the final minutes of the contest, with the Thunderbirds stringing together a late run to bring the game within three points. Bob would convert at the free-throw line with under two seconds left, giving the Texans a crucial four-point conference road win.

"It's the best," Green said of breaking the tie with New Mexico. "Us and Odessa are tied, and we can watch them and they can watch us every night, and hopefully they lose out, and we win out."

South Plains will be back in action Thursday night when they travel to New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m. MST.