Wrangler Men defeat Midland College 98-60

ARTICLE BY CHRIS AMAYA - ODESSA AMERICAN 

Depth and consistent effort stood out in the Odessa College men's basketball team's 98-60 victory over Midland College Thursday at the OC Sports Center. The victory helped the Wranglers stay undefeated in Western Junior College Athletic Conference play and extended their winning streak to six games.

"We've got 15 guys that play really, really hard," Odessa College men's coach Kris Baumann said. "I think it holds guys accountable because if guys don't take care of the basketball or they're not playing with the right kind of energy, then you can get somebody else that's ready to go in the game and play."

The Wranglers were in control of the contest from the opening minutes, taking over the lead after Midland College jumped in front by one point with 17 minutes left in the first half. By the halftime break, Odessa College was up by 20 points after connecting on 62.5% of its shots.

A fast start in the second half allowed the Wranglers to try out different lineups with multiple players making strong contributions off the bench. Odessa College outscored the Chaps 52-34 in the second half and finished the game shooting 60.3% from the field.

The Wranglers also forced 27 turnovers from Midland College, allowing them to push the pace at different points in the game.

"We knew that we kind of had to turn up the pressure a little bit, try to get them to turn it over and speed them up because if you let them stay set, they do a really good job," Baumann said. "If they get you in the half court, they can really grind you out."

Darrell Armstrong Jr. led Odessa College with 15 points, while Garfield Turner was second with 11 points.

All but one of the 15 Wranglers who saw playing time scored in the victory. Odessa College (14-5 overall, 5-0 conference) will continue league play against Frank Phillips College at 7:30 p.m. Monday in Borger.

Baumann said the team's next road trip will be the longest it will face in the season. "There's a lot of distractions in that, so we're going to have to have some maturity from the top down," Baumann said. "Our guys are going to have to do a good job of being ready to go and having maturity to them."

The Wranglers will travel to Borger, TX on Monday to take on Frank Phillips College at 5:30pm.