ROSWELL— Three to go.
The South Plains College Texans improved their record to 10-3 in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference after routing the New Mexico Military Institute Broncos 81-64 in Roswell on Thursday night.
It was a tale of two halves for South Plains (19-7, 10-3) as the Broncos (8-18, 0-12) were able to scavenge points and find ways to stick around in the first twenty minutes. The Texans shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and took a 39-38 lead into the break behind Deontae North's 13 first half points. The 6-foot-4 sophomore guard went 4-for-4 from the 3-point line, and finished the contest with 19 points for the Texans.
"I just wanted to step it up, and I think we all have to step up now," North said. "It's a major time in the season towards the end, and everybody has to lock in. At halftime we were all pretty upset, and we felt we had a lack of energy, and wanted to pick the energy up."
South Plains would do just that, making major efforts on the inside to grab rebounds and create second chance opportunities. The Texans found success midway through the second half and pushed their lead to 58-47 with 11:26 remaining.
Sophomore Che Bob would go on to set a new career high with 37 points and 11 boards, 25 of which came in the final twenty minutes of the contest. Bob was a presence on inside the paint and on the perimeter, carrying the team offensively throughout the final stint.
"I think we played good as a team throughout the game," Bob said. "We shared the ball and got everyone comfortable, and found guys in the spots they're comfortable at. I knew 'Pookie' (Marlon Jones) was out and I had to step up a little bit, and when Deontae went out I knew I really had to come out and pick it up."
South Plains would continue to enforce their will in the final minutes, taking a 66-50 lead with five minutes remaining. The Texans would go on to lead by as much as 20 points in the final minutes, wrapping up yet another conference road win to remain tied for first place in the WJCAC conference.
"It helps a lot playing with a guy like that, and it takes a lot of pressure of of me," North said. "Che Bob is pretty much unstoppable once he gets it going, and I really like to see him get going. When he does, it helps me get going myself, and everyone else on the team as well."
The Texans will be back in action on Monday night when they play host to Howard College on 'Think Pink' Breast Cancer Awareness Night at the Texan Dome, with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m.