Wranglers Rout South Plains 92-63

ARTICLE BY CHRIS AMAYA | ODESSA AMERICAN

The Odessa College men's basketball team put its undefeated Western Junior College Athletic Conference mark to the test against South Plains College.

Going into the matchup, the Wranglers and Texans were the top two teams in the conference with the Wranglers leading by a game.

Odessa College came out with the upper hand, defeating South Plains 92-63 Thursday at the OC Sports Center.

"We're getting better, our young guys are getting better and our old guys are playing like they're sophomores, like they're supposed to," Odessa College head coach Kris Baumann said.

Baumann was impressed with the all-around performance of his team, including playmakers Daniss Jenkins, Garfield Turner and Kiree Huie.

A fast start helped the Wranglers build confidence early in the first half, something that would increase as the period moved forward.

Less than four minutes into the game, Odessa College had an eight-point advantage after Darrell Armstrong Jr. converted a 3-pointer.

The Wranglers led by double digits the rest of the first half and closed it out on a strong note with a dunk from Kiree Huie.

Odessa College started the second half outscoring South Plains 11-4 to continue its steady increase in momentum, with every Wranglers player moving quickly to create more open shot opportunities.

South Plains looked to cut the deficit at multiple points in the period, but Odessa College had multiple players back on defense to slow down any responses from the Texans.

Physicality played an important role in the matchup, as it helped the Wranglers stay ahead.

The Wranglers outscored the Texans 46-36 in the second half to seal their eighth straight victory and maintain their unbeaten mark in conference play.

Jenkins led Odessa College with 17 points, while Dontrell Hewlett provided 11 and Daniel Rivera scored 10.

"Any time you beat South Plains and you beat a Steve Green team, that's something in junior college," Baumann said. "I thought the guys did a good job tonight, we still got to turn around at the end of the month and go play them."

Baumann anticipates the Texans will be better the next time both teams face off on Feb. 21 in Levelland.

The Wranglers (16-5 overall, 7-0 conference) will host Howard College at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the OC Sports Center.