BASKETBALL: Shooting woes send No. 11 Chaps to second straight loss
As bad as the No. 11-ranked Midland College men’s basketball team shot in the first half against Clarendon College, the Chaparrals were fortunate to still have a shot to win late in the game on Monday night.
By Oscar LeRoy
Midland Reporter-Telegram
MIDLAND, TEXAS - As bad as the No. 11-ranked Midland College men's basketball team shot in the first half against Clarendon College, the Chaparrals were fortunate to still have a shot to win late in the game on Monday night.
Down by as many as 16 in the second half, the Chaps fought back to tie the game at 52-all when Keonte Jones split a pair of free throws with 17 seconds remaining.
But the Bulldogs had the final answer when Josiah Fulcher hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key in the final second to lift Clarendon to a 55-52 Western Junior College Athletic Conference victory at Chaparral Center.
It's the second straight loss for Midland (16-2, 2-2) after it struggled from the floor – including 2 of 19 from 3-point range – in a 62-56 loss at New Mexico Junior College last Thursday.
On Monday, the shooting percentages were even worse. The Chaps shot an 17.1% from the floor in the first half when they trailed 23-14 at intermission before they finished shooting 27% for the game and were just 2 of 13 from beyond the arc.
"In the past couple of games, we've missed too many shots," MC coach Tra Arnold said, "It comes down to personnel. It's the players. I can't put it up there and make a shot. We just have to keep working."
While the Chaps continue to deal with injuries and a short bench, Arnold will definitely not use that as an excuse. He said that this current bad stretch is part of the growing pains of a program that's still learning how to win after several years of struggling.
"We've got a lot of those players returning and it's hard to change losing into winning when they've seen losing," Arnold said. "You could see when we get into a close game sometimes that they revert to bad habits. But it's part of the process. Our finished product won't be done until mid-February, late February. Anybody can play as a frontrunner when you're winning. When adversity hits, it shows what kind of player and person you are. We'll find out as we keep going."
Doug Young was the only player for the Chaps to score in double figures with a game-high 22 points.
Clarendon (15-3, 3-1) shot only slightlty better than MC as the Bulldogs hit 35.8% of its shots and were 6 of 16 from 3.
Aahmod Scarbrough led the Bulldogs with 13 points, while Fulcher and Shannon Strickland each added 11.
MC looks to snap its skid when it travels to Western Texas College at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
Follow Oscar on Twitter: @OLeRoy_MRT
CLARENDON COLLEGE 55, NO. 11 MIDLAND COLLEGE 52
Clarendon College (15-3, 3-1) – Shannon Strickland 3-11 2-2 11, Omar Cooper 1-4 0-0 2, Jeriah Coleman 1-3 0-0 2, Jamal West 1-4 6-8 8, Josiah Fulcher 4-14 1-4 11, Bol Akot 2-4 0-2 4, Aamod Scarbrough 5-8 2-2 13, Lenard Taylor 1-2 0-0 2, Matt Brown 0-1 0-0 0, LiWayne Richardson 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 19-53 11-18 55
Midland College (16-2, 2-2) – Christian Villegas 2-8 0-0 4, Keonte Jones 2-7 3-5 7, Doug Young 6-19 8-9 22, Eric Grier 2-5 0-0 4, Jamil Bowles 1-2 2-5 4, Roddrick Henry 2-11 2-2 6, Jaden Henderson 1-4 0-0 2, Xavier White 1-5 0-0 2, Brett Leach 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 17-63 16-23 52
Halftime – CC 23, MC 14. 3-point goals – CC 6-16 (Strickland 3-6, Fulcher 2-7, Scarbrough 1-2, Taylor 0-1), MC 2-13 (Young 2-4, Villegas 0-3, Jones 0-1, Henry 0-1, Henderson 0-1, White 0-2, Leach 0-1). Total fouls – CC 19, MC 17. Fouled out -- Coleman. Rebounds – CC 44 (Coleman 8, Richardson 8), MC 33 (White 8). Turnovers – CC 17, MC 8.
2022-23 WJCAC Men's Basketball Standings
| Conference | Overall | |||
| W | L | W | L | |
| Odessa College | 3 | 0 | 16 | 1 |
| Clarendon College | 3 | 1 | 15 | 3 |
| New Mexico Junior College | 2 | 1 | 9 | 8 |
| Howard College | 2 | 2 | 12 | 6 |
| Midland College | 2 | 2 | 16 | 2 |
| South Plains College | 2 | 1 | 14 | 3 |
| Frank Phillips College | 1 | 2 | 9 | 7 |
| New Mexico Military Institute | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 |
| Western Texas College | 0 | 4 | 7 | 11 |
Monday's Games
Clarendon College 55, Midland College 52; New Mexico Military Institute 88, Howard College 80; South Plains College 65, Frank Phillips College 45; New Mexico JC 74, Western Texas College 71; Odessa College was open
Thursday's Games
Midland College at Western Texas College; New Mexico Military Institute at Odessa College; Frank Phillips College at Clarendon College; South Plains College at New Mexico JC; Howard College is open