Peter Dindinger – NMMI Sports Press
It was an opportunity for the New Mexico Military Institute Bronco basketball team to notch another win over a nationally-ranked opponent at home and to also force a tie atop the Western Junior College Athletic Conference standings.
On Monday night, the 21st-ranked Odessa College Wranglers streaked past the Broncos 94-81 to remain unblemished in conference play and to extend their winning streak to five.
The Broncos had four players score in double digits with Luis Riascos Varon leading the way with 19 points and six rebounds.
NMMI (11-7 overall, 3-2 WJCAC) has to rebound quickly with a 6.30 p.m. tipoff in Hobbs against New Mexico Junior College on Thursday. The Broncos had their four-game winning streak snapped and are now 7-3 at the Godfrey Athletic Center.
"I just think we were pretty hesitant. You can't have mental breakdowns against a really good team," said NMMI head coach Sean Schooley. "I can't wait to play them again. Everything we did poorly is correctable. It's part of it. We're still in a good spot. We're still fine."
The game was tight at the start after both teams underwent three ties in the score until Odessa pulled away for a seven-point lead.
Daniss Jenkins made a shot in the paint to give the Wranglers a 10-point lead with 8:07 left in the first half.
After four quick points from Chris Bready and Jordan Nelson, Latik Murphy knocked down a three-pointer to cut the deficit to three with 6:01 on the clock.
Jenkins and Dontrell Hewlett got the Wranglers five points to extend the lead back to double digits as Odessa was ahead by 12.
Varon had 12 points for NMMI at halftime while the Wranglers were led by Jenkins with 13 points.
NMMI trailed by as little as two points with 15:15 in the second half after a bucket by Amiri Crowder.
The lead see-sawed back and forth as Odessa pulled ahead by six before the Broncos fought back to trail by two once again.
Odessa then gained an eight-point lead after getting a three-pointer from Mike Rivera.
NMMI got a pair of clutch three-pointers from Murphy and Williams to chisel the deficit down to two with 11:03 left to go.
A turnover by the Broncos down the stretch led to a three-pointer made by Jenkins, which put Odessa up by 13 with around six minutes on the clock.
Murphy landed another clutch three with 2:52 left in the game to put NMMI behind by six.
In the double bonus, the Wranglers took advantage of some key free throws to take a 15-point lead.
Jenkins led all scorers with 24 points while Rivera finished with 16 points. Four other Wranglers tallied double-digit scoring figures.
Odessa went 16 for 18 from the free throw line.
Nelson chipped in with 16 points while Murphy had 13 and Bready added with 12. Williams finished with 11 points.
The Broncos grabbed 32 rebounds while shooting 24 of 36 from charity stripe. Varon led the rebounding effort with six.
"Not sure we believed we belonged there tonight. We've got to do more of what we do," Schooley said. "We're not sinking. We hung around the whole game. Losing is nothing wonderful but you can kind of take some things and go."
>> Western Junior College Athletic Conference scores from Monday, Jan. 10:
- South Plains 80, NMJC 71
- Midland 80, Western Texas College 72
- Frank Phillips 108, Clarendon 82
>> WJCAC standings:
- Odessa 13-5 (4-0) 2. (tie) South Plains 9-7 (2-1); and NMJC 10-8 (2-1) 4. (tie) NMMI 11-7 (3-2); and Midland 10-8 (3-2) 6. Howard 10-6 (2-2) 7. Frank Phillips 10-8 (1-3) 8. (tie) Western Texas 11-8 (1-4); and Clarendon 6-12 (1-4).
Odessa 94, NMMI 81
ODESSA
Dian Wright-Forde 4 3-5 12, Daniss Jenkins 8 6-6 24, Daniel Rivera 8 0-0 16, Anthony Marshall 2 1-1 5, Dontrell Hewlett 4 2-2 10, Mike Rivera 5 2-2 13, Tre Richardson 3 2-2 10, Shakeen Alcindor 1 0-0 2, Kiree Huie 1 0-0 2. Totals 36 16-18 94.
NMMI
Chris Bready 3 6-8 12, Isaiah Williams 2 6-10 11, Latik Murphy 4 2-2 13, Jordan Nelson 6 2-2 16, Nadjrick Peat 0 1-2 1, Amiri Crowder 2 0-0 4, Luis Riascos Varon 7 5-5 19, Reginald Ward 1 0-1 3, John Mapiou 0 1-2 1, Jonathan Salazar 0 1-4 1. Totals 25 24-36 81.
ODES………39……55 --- 94
NMMI……..33…….48--- 81
3-point goals – Odessa 6 (Jenkins 2, Richardson 2, Mike Rivera 1, Wright Forde 1); NMMI 7 (Murphy 3, Nelson 2, Williams 1, Ward 1). Rebounds – Odessa 28 (Daniel Rivera 5, Mike Rivera 5); NMMI 32 (Varon 6, Crowder 5, Bready 5). Assists – Odessa 15 (Jenkins 5, Daniel Rivera 3, Marshall 3); NMMI 15 (Bready 5, Crowder 3). Total fouls – Odessa 28, NMMI 17. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – NMMI (Coach).