Karen Boehler — For NMMI Sports Press

ODESSA, Texas — The Bronco basketball team headed home from Odessa Monday with a 74-67 loss, but considering that loss was to the No.-3 ranked team in the nation, coach Sean Schooley was happy with what he saw on the floor.

"I'm not happy we lost, but I'm really happy with our effort," he said. "This is a real turning point for us in the season. We gave them everything we had."

The game started an hour late while the teams waited for the officials to arrive, and for NMMI, much of the first half looked like they slept during that unexpected break.

The Wranglers (12-0, 5-0) took a 3-0 lead on a foul during a 3-point shot just seconds into the game, then added to their lead with a layup a minute later. 

NMMI (2-5, 1-3) had their share of possessions, but until John Mapiou made a layup at 17:18, nothing would go in for them. The Broncos trailed 16-4 seven minutes into the game, and despite a trey by Jay'veon Coleman and a jumper by Khaleb Wilson-Rouse, the Odessa lead stretched to 24-10 with a little less than nine minutes remaining in the half.

But while the offense wasn't cooking, the Institute was making the Wranglers work for every point they got, running them up and down the floor and rebounding on both ends.

"We rebounded exceptionally well," the coach said."We started off with five offensive rebounds."

And a few on defense as well, and eventually, the balls did start falling.

Furaha Cadeaux de Dieu made back-to-back 3-pointers and Mapiou and Wilson-Rouse each hit for two, while the Wranglers only managed one bucket over a four-minute span.

Wilson-Rouse then closed the gap to 26-25 on a jumper but Odessa followed with a pair of layups and free throw to give them a 31-27 halftime lead.

A tip in by Mapiou after a rebound closed the gap to 31-29 to open the second half, then, after some back-and-forth, Jeremiah Barr tied the game at 38-all on a layup. After a time out by NMMI, the Broncos took a 40-38 lead on a pair of free throws by Cadeaux de Dieu, stretched it to 42-39 on a Wilson-Rouse jumper, 45-41 on a trey by Wilson-Rouse and 47-41 on a pair of free throws by the sophomore.

The Wranglers slowly started coming back, but a dunk by Nadjrick Peat made the lead 51-47; another 3 by Cadeau de Dieu stretched it to 58-51; Nicolas Girondin made it 61-53; and two more from the charity tripe made it 63-57.

But while Odessa did eventually retake the lead, NMMI led against the nationally-ranked Wrangers for almost 10 minutes.

"I think they wore us down a little bit at the end," Schooley said. "But our effort, aside from maybe three or four minutes, was at a very, very high level. I think they realize if they do that against everybody, they're going to give themselves a chance to be successful and get ready for the conference tournament at the end of the year."

While Schooley said everyone who got on the floor contributed — and everyone saw time on the floor — he singled out Cadeau de Dieu and Peat for special praise.

"(Cadeaux de Dieu) played a tremendous game on the boards," the coach said. "He's been struggling, and he struggled early, then he got going and he was tremendous tonight."

The sophomore was tied for high point individual with Wilson-Rouse, with 21, and picked up nine rebounds. He was 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and 9-for-13 at the charity stripe.

"Peat came off the bench and played his best game as a freshman," Schooley said. "He had nine rebounds and three blocks. Just really, really showing some tremendous effort. Really the whole team, but those two on the inside I thought were phenomenal."

Considering the team has only played seven games so far this season — they usually hone their skills in non-conference matches — Schooley has pleased with what he saw.

"In the middle of conference, we're trying to teach these guys things they should already know by playing other teams. It's difficult. But today they showed a tremendous amount of heart and it's what we've been looking for."

The Broncos have one more road game vs. Howard College Thursday, then, if the county stays in yellow or better, the Broncos will play the second half of the conference season at home.