BASKETBALL: Chaps’ skid continues with loss to South Plains
Midland College men’s basketball coach Pat Rafferty said if his team did some things better here and there, the Chaparrals might have a better chance to change the outcomes of some of their games.
By Oscar LeRoy
Midland Reporter-Telegram
MIDLAND, TEXAS - Midland College men's basketball coach Pat Rafferty said if his team did some things better here and there, the Chaparrals might have a better chance to change the outcomes of some of their games.
As it is, the Chaparrals suffered their third straight loss and eighth defeat in their last nine games on Monday night as South Plains College went into Chaparral Center and came away with a 70-55 victory.
The Chaparrals (10-11, 3-5 in Western Junior College Athletic Conference) shot just 35.7% and were out-rebounded 36-22 by a bigger South Plains team.
There were times that the Chaps -- who trailed 31-24 at halftime after only shooting 31% -- looked like they would make it a closer game in the second half. For a large chunk of the period, the Texans (12-8, 6-2) held a 10-point advantage. Every time MC would cut it to single digits, the Texans had an answer before finally putting it away with an 11-4 run to close the game.
"I'm not disappointed in them, I'm disappointed in the outcome," said Rafferty of his team. "I thought we competed. I thought we tried to play hard. I'm not saying eliminate all the offensive rebounds they got, but if we eliminated a couple of the offensive rebounds and take four points off the board, and we make a couple of more free throws, and we don't hit 36% from the floor and make a couple of more open shots, now that 10, 12, 15-point game is a two-possession game and we're right there."
Rafferty added that he can live with the effort the Chaps gave on Monday night, because it was a much different story than it was a couple of weeks ago when they suffered three blowout losses in four WJCAC games.
"They had great opportunities down that stretch (to quit), but we didn't show up and compete," Rafferty said. "At least with these guys right now, I know we don't have guys that are quitters. They had opportunities and they had guys around them quit and they are not quitting. In fact, I think they're more bought in now than they were at the beginning of the year."
Steven Richardson and Oliver Hayward each had 15 points to lead the Chaps, while Hayward added a team-high seven rebounds.
Eric Coleman Jr. led the Texans with 14 points, DJ Avery had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Marcus Burnett added 10 points.
The Chaps next travel to Big Spring to take on rival Howard College at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The Hawks are coming off a 61-57 loss at Odessa College on Monday.
Follow Oscar on Twitter: @OLeRoy_MRT
SOUTH PLAINS COLLEGE 70, MIDLAND COLLEGE 55
South Plains College (12-8, 6-2) – Tytan Newton 0-0 0-0 0, Jaden Harris 2-5 2-2 7, Kieves Turner 2-10 5-5 9, Eric Coleman Jr. 4-5 3-5 14, Khalifa Sakho 3-5 2-4 8, Malik Zachery 1-3 0-2 2, Jaylin Reed 2-3 0-0 5, Marcus Burnett 3-5 3-4 10, DJ Avery 5-9 2-3 13, Malek Abdelgowad 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 23-47 17-25 70
Midland College (10-11, 3-5) – Matteo Tersillo 1-6 0-1 2, Christian Villegas 2-9 0-1 5, Trent Johnson 2-6 1-2 5, Steven Richardson 6-14 2-2 15, Oliver Hayward 5-12 3-6 15, Jaden Henderson 2-5 3-4 7, Bradley Beemon 2-4 0-0 6, Wunya Brown 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-56 9-16 55
Halftime: SPC 31, MC 24. 3-point goals – SPC, MC. Total fouls – SPC, MC. Fouled out – Abdelgowad, Beemon. Rebounds – SPC 36 (Avery 11), MC 22 (Hayward 7). Assists – SPC 10 (Zachery 3), MC 14 (three with 3). Turnovers – SPC 13, MC 10.
2021-22 WJCAC men's basketball standings
Conference Overall
W/ L W/L
Odessa College 8/0 17/5
South Plains 6/2 12/8
New Mexico JC 5/3 13/9
Frank Phillips 4/4 13/8
Howard College 4/4 12/8
New Mexico Military 4/4 12/9
Midland College 3/5 10/11
Western Texas 2/6 12/10
Clarendon 1/7 6/15
Monday's Scores
South Plains College 70, Midland College 55; Odessa College 61, Howard College 57; Frank Phillips College 92, Western Texas College 89; New Mexico JC 69, Clarendon College 60; New Mexico Military Institute was open
Thursday's Games
Midland College at Howard College; Western Texas College at Clarendon College; Odessa College at New Mexico JC; New Mexico Military Institute at Frank Phillips College; South Plains College is open
CLICK HERE for 2021-22 Season Schedule
CLICK HERE for Live-Streaming of Games