NMMI Sports Press
The New Mexico Military Institute Bronco men's basketball team earned their first conference win at home and evened up their record in the WJCAC to 3-3 by downing Western Texas College, 76-64.
The Institute let the Westerners score the first five points of the game, but knotted the contest at 10s with a 7-2 run over the next five minutes, capped by a dribble-drive and shot in the paint by freshman guard Jeremiah Barr.
NMMI then built a lead as large as nine, 32-23, after another score by Barr, this time a trey, with 6:32 left on the clock.
But Western Texas, who came into tonight game with an impressive 16-3 overall record, came storming back. They allowed just two more Bronco points before halftime, while scoring 14, to take a three point lead into the locker room, 37-34.
Turnovers plagued NMMI at the start of the second half and with 14:26 left and the Broncos trailing by eight, 50-42, head Institute coach Sean Schooley called a timeout.
"This year we are able to sustain other team's runs, where in the past we tended to have a mental breakdown," said Schooley about the slow start in both halves. "This group is one of the most mentally tough teams I've ever coached. And it shows – it seems like we always get down 7-0 and then we come to play."
Schooley's pep-talk worked, as NMMI regained the lead less than five minutes later on a three-pointer from soph guard Andrew Cotton.
Up 56-54, the Institute never trailed again, and slowly pulled away for the double-digit win over the final 10 minutes.
Four Bronco players finished the game with double-figure tallies in points: freshman center Osborn Shema was the game's top scorer with 18; Cotton was close behind with 17 points and 12 rebounds; sophomore forward Jermane Carter poured in 16 with perfect shooting from both the field and free throw-line; and Barr closed out his scoring column with 12.
"It was just a great effort again on both sides of the ball, just like we did at Frank Phillips," said coach Schooley. "Putting up back-to-back conference wins in this league is extremely difficult, but we did a tremendous job of staying with the game plan. We still turned the ball over too many times, especially there at the start of the second half, but our defense kept us in it and some our players really stepped it up."
Next up for NMMI [11-7 overall], will be a four-game conference road-swing, beginning with Odessa College on Thursday, Jan. 23. They'll travel to Big Spring to take on Howard College on Jan. 27; to Clarendon College on the 30th; at New Mexico Junior College on Feb. 6; then finally return home to take on South Plains College on Feb. 10.