ROSWELL, N.M.—Jahlil Tripp scored 17 points and hauled in 12 rebounds to lead the No. 1 South Plains College Texans past New Mexico Military Institute 67-48 on Monday night.
"We had a few mishaps on offense and weren't playing our type of basketball early in the game," Tripp said. "I just tried to come out and play tough and play with heart and let my teammates trust me to make the right plays. Coach Green is always telling us that if our shots aren't falling go find another way to win. We did that tonight on defense, and we know we can do other things besides just shoot 3s."
Jordan Brangers totaled 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field for South Plains(17-0, 5-0) while Josh Webster bucketed 12 points and dished out four assists. The Texans led the Broncos(5-11, 1-4) 28-20 at the halfway point after recording their lowest point total of the season in the first half.
South Plains shot just 30 percent from the floor and 20 percent from the perimeter in the first 20 minutes. The Broncos didn't fair much better as they shot just 28 percent from the field in the front half. Tripp and Brangers combined for 16 of the Texans' 28 first half points.
The Texans found their stroke in the final stint and went on to shoot 51 percent from the field in the second half. Webster scored nine of his 12 in the back half of the contest. South Plains corralled the Broncos' offensive attack and forced them to shoot just 36 percent from the floor and 18 percent from the 3-point line in the final 20 minutes.
"It was a tough environment tonight and we had to find another way to win," Webster said. "They were denying Jordan of the basketball and not allowing him to shoot, so we had to adjust and find another way to get a win. We know we can overcome and accomplish anything. We need to do the same thing on Thursday and come out and create shots for each other. When all 12 guys play with energy is when we are clicking together."
South Plains will look to remain perfect come Thursday night when they play host to Howard College on Holiday Inn Night at the Texan Dome. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. and can be watched live at spctexans.com by using the 'Watch Games' tab at the top of the page.