BASKETBALL: Too little, too late for Chaps in loss

By Oscar LeRoy
Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Getting the Midland College men's basketball team to play a complete game has been a big challenge for head coach Pat Rafferty in the second half of this season.

For about the last 10 minutes against Clarendon College on Monday night, the Chaps played some good basketball and even had chances to win the game. But it was the first 30 minutes that was the biggest problem as MC fell to the Bulldogs, 69-65, at Chaparral Center.

MC (11-14, 4-8 in Western Junior College Athletic Conference) trailed by as many as 22 points in the second half before it cut it to 68-65 in the final minute.

The Chaps had a chance to tie it in the final seconds but couldn't hit the 3-pointer, which sealed the game for Clarendon (7-18, 2-10) and dealt MC its third straight loss and 11th loss in its last 13 games.

"In the last 10 minutes, I thought we played with a lot of energy and I thought we competed hard," Rafferty said. "(Earlier in the game) we were soft, we were lethargic, we didn't play with energy, we didn't play with any toughness and that's how you get down 20-something points. If I knew what the button was, we wouldn't be having these consistency issues.

"I'm learning that playing hard is a learned skill. As coaches, the one thing we hate is having to coach effort. It was good to see a game where I know what we're capable when we're playing with energy, we're attacking and being a little more aggressive. There are positives that can come from that."

Clarendon took a 35-25 lead at the half but then began to separate when it went on a 17-5 run to begin the second half and take a 52-30 lead. Rafferty his team played soft and sloppy during that bad stretch.

The Chaps then responded with a 16-4 run, capped off by a Trent Johnson dunk that gave them some new life.

"We tried to pull and push that energy out of them and then plays started to fall on top of each other and it got kind of fun for about 10 minutes," Rafferty said.

Johnson finished the game with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds, Oliver Hayward had 14 points and seven rebounds, Jaden Henderson had 14 points, and Steven Richardson added 12 for MC.

Garren Davis and Zarique Nutter each had 18 points for the Bulldogs, Bryce Okpoh had 12 and Ibn Loyal added 10.

The Chaps next head to Western Texas College at 7:30 p.m. and Rafferty hopes the last 10 minutes is a reference point that his team could build on.

"To have that consistency has been the big issue," Rafferty said. "But more positive things are going to happen when we're aggressive and playing hard than when we're soft and not."