HOBBS — Jaden Harris connected on a turn around jumper from twelve feet with two seconds left in regulation as the South Plains College men's basketball team bested New Mexico Junior College 75-73 Thursday at Caster Activity Center at Ron Black Court.
The Texans improve to 15-3 on the year and 3-1 in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference and will be back on their home floor on Monday, Jan. 23 to take on Clarendon College at 7:30 p.m. at the Texan Dome.
"I'm happy for Jaden, and these guys work their tail off all year for a moment like that," South Plains College head coach Hayden Sowers said. "Players make plays, and as coaches, we just try to put them in a position to be successful, and that's what Jaden did. We have lost three one possession games, and to see us win one and fight through adversity, that's growth and exactly what we want to see from our team."
Trailing 73-72 following a layup from New Mexico's Josh Nwankwo, the Texans had one final look at the bucket in the final seconds. Harris would take the inbound from Ismail Habib, as the sophomore from Atlanta would rise up and connect on a turn around jump shot that pierced the net and gave South Plains a 74-73 lead with two seconds to play.
"Coach Sowers knew they were going to focus on Christian, so he hold Chris to screen for me, and my defender ran into the screen and I was able to hit a shot for our team," Harris said. "I used to imagine hitting a game winning shot all the time in front of my grandma's yard, and that dream became a reality today."
Harris finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, and a pair of assists for South Plains, while Christian Coleman recorded a career-high 30 points and 10 boards, connecting on 10 of 20 shots from the field and was eight of 12 from the free throw line over 38 minutes.
"This win means a lot to us," Coleman said. "We wanted to win this one, and we still haven't got over the loss at Howard, and we wanted to stay on track and take the next step tonight. The game shifted when we lost our big guys, but at the same time, their big guy had to come out and guard me, so it worked out perfectly for us. I feel great for Jaden, and coach Sowers told me to screen for him, and Jaden hit the big shot tonight."
The Texans shot 42.6 percent from the floor and knocked down nine 3s in the contest. New Mexico shot a 41.3 percent clip from the field, as both teams received 15 points from their respective benches, while the Texans netted 20 points inside the paint.