BASKETBALL: Chaps show grit in OT win over Howard College
In a game where Midland College was sloppy with the basketball at times, it had to dig deep to find a way to win against rival Howard College on Wednesday night.
By Oscar LeRoy
Midland Reporter-Telegram
MIDLAND, TEXAS - In a game where Midland College was sloppy with the basketball at times, it had to dig deep to find a way to win against rival Howard College on Wednesday night.
Trailing by double digits for much of the second half, the Chaparrals fought back to send the game to overtime, and then hit some clutch free throws down the stretch for a 60-57 victory over the Hawks in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference opener at Chaparral Center.
For a program that struggled mightily last year and went winless in WJCAC play, the rebuilt Chaps (8-3, 1-0) showed on this night that they are not the same pushover team that opponents faced last year.
The Chaps, however, didn't make things easy on themselves as they had to overcome 22 turnovers.
"I was pleased with our grit, that we hung in there," MC coach Pat Rafferty said. "It's kind of that process where we're trying to get better at the fundamentals, decisions, passing and being strong with the basketball. And those are things that are correctable. It's been a slow process, but to me it's the grit. You can have all the skills and all the fundamentals in the world but if you don't have any grit, competitiveness in you, it doesn't matter how skilled you are. I'll take the grit and build on that."
Howard (7-5, 0-1) expanded on its 24-17 lead at the half to as much as a 46-33 advantage midway through the second half and appeared to be in control.
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| Franklin Agu |
But MC refused to go away and then went on a 9-2 run to cut it to 54-50 late in regulation.
"We had slow first half and coach spoke to us and said, 'come on, we know what we're capable of,'" MC forward Franklin Agu said. "That's what we did in the second half, we battled with them."
Rafferty said a key to the comeback was cutting down on the turnovers and playing tough inside the paint.
"We've got some kids that can really shoot it on the perimeter, but if teams push you out, it's hard to get shots," Rafferty said. "So we knew we had to establish something in the interior, whether it was playing inside-outside and attacking in the paint."
Key to that inside game was Agu, the 6-foot-6 freshman from London, England, who finished with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds after scoring 14 of his points in the second half.
"That's our inside presence," Rafferty said. "That's what he does well. Once he gets to where he's more fundamental with his balance and his footwork, he's going to be a lot more effective and finish a lot more plays than he does."
Added Agu: "I had a poor first half and I had to show what I was capable of. I had to step it up and I tried my best to do that."
It probably didn't help the Hawks that leading scorer Blaize Sagna (18 points) fouled out during the spurt.
MC eventually sent it into overtime when the Hawks were called for goaltending on an Oliver Hayward layup with 13.8 seconds left, which tied it at 54-all.
The Chaps eventually closed out the win at the charity stripe by going 4 of 6 at the line in the extra period.
Trent Johnson added 10 points for the Chaps, while Matteo Tersillo added nine.
Nestor Dyachok added 15 points for Howard and Midland High grad Rahkiem Petterson chipped in with nine points and four rebounds.
The Chaps now look to build on this win as they head to Frank Phillips College at 3:45 p.m. Saturday.
"It's a really big win," Agu said. "It's a big conference so every win is important to us, especially when we're at home."
MIDLAND COLLEGE 60, HOWARD COLLEGE 57, OT
Howard College (7-5, 0-1 in WJCAC) – Rahkiem Petterson 3-7 3-3 9, Blaize Sagna 7-13 2-2 18, Jacoby Bishop 1-9 0-2 2, Nestor Dyachok 4-10 4-5 15, Bonny Udoh 4-5 0-0 8, D'Mari Wiltz 0-6 2-3 2, TK Bryant 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 20-53 12-17 57
Midland College (8-3, 1-0) – Matteo Tersillo 3-9 0-0 9, Christian Villegas 3-6 2-4 8, Trent Johnson 4-6 2-2 10, Steven Richardson 1-8 2-4 5, Franklin Agu 7-12 3-4 17, Devin Avent 0-1 6-6 6, Daniel Piech-Meat 0-0 0-0 0, Oliver Hayward 2-3 0-0 5. Totals 20-45, 13-16 60
Halftime – Howard 24, Midland 17. End of regulation – Midland 54, Howard 54. 3-point goals – HC 5-24 (Dyachok 3-7, Sagna 2-5, Petterson 0-2, Bishop 0-6, Wiltz 0-3, Bryant 0-1), MC 7-21 (Tersillo 3-9, Villegas 2-4, Richardson 1-4, Hayward 1-2, Avent 0-1, Johnson 0-1). Total fouls – HC 21, MC 17. Fouled out – Sagna, Avent. Rebounds – HC 18 (Petterson 4, Sagna 4), MC 34 (Agu 10). Assists – HC 9 (Wiltz 6), MC 13 (Richardson 5). Turnovers – HC 12, MC 22.
Next: Midland College at Frank Phillips College, 3:45 p.m. Saturday
2021-22 WJCAC men's basketball standings
School / Conference W-L / Overall W-L
Western Texas 1 0 10 3
Midland College 1 0 8 3
New Mexico Military 1 0 7 5
Odessa College 1 0 9 5
Frank Phillips 0 1 9 4
South Plains College 0 0 3 5
Howard College 0 1 7 5
New Mexico JC 0 1 7 5
Clarendon College 0 1 4 9
Wednesday's games
Midland College 60, Howard College 57, OT; Odessa College 89, New Mexico JC 86; Western Texas College 69, Clarendon College 66; New Mexico Military Institute 89, Frank Phillips College 85; South Plains College was open
Saturday's games
Midland College at Frank Phillips College; Western Texas College at Howard College, Odessa College at Clarendon College; New Mexico Military Institute at South Plains College; New Mexico JC is open