NMMI Sports Press

The New Mexico Military Institute Bronco basketball team couldn't quite pull off another home conference win, falling to Clarendon College 70-62.

NMMI trailed by nine at the half, 35-26, but came out hot in the second, knotting the score at 37s with a 9-2 run during the first four minutes.

This was the first of six ties that occurred during the period, with NMMI taking a brief lead twice: once by one, 45-44, after a three-pointer by Javier Mendoza with 11:54 remaining, then by two, 50-48, on a Mendoza assist to Justin Bramao at the 9:20 mark.

Mendoza nailed another trey with 3:14 left in the game, cutting a four-point Bulldog lead down to just one, 61-60, but that was as close as the Institute would get down the final stretch.

"We've shown tremendous improvement, especially when you look at our first time around in conference," said NMMI head coach Sean Schooley. "In this second half of conference play, we've been in almost every game, all the way until the end. That's two games in a row that we've lost by eight. And it's these close games that are agonizing. The ones you lose by 15 or 20, you sleep like a baby. But the close ones keep you up at night, reviewing game film and thinking back to those three or four key plays that could have turned things around in your favor."

Mendoza was NMMI's top scorer of the game, finishing with 14 points. Two other Broncos also posted double-digit point totals, with the big men battling in the paint: Cassius Bonjasky with 12 and Leslie Okafor with 10.

"Our goal is to get 40+ rebounds a game – which we are now achieving – and only 10 turnovers or less," continued Schooley. "We've figured out the rebounding: tonight we pounded the glass and outrebounded the Bulldogs. But we've just got to do a better job of taking care of the ball."

Okafor was NMMI's top rebounder with nine, including an outstanding eight on the offensive side, while Justin Bramao and Donald Chapman both pulled down seven boards.

The loss puts NMMI's overall mark at 9-18 overall and 4-9 in conference play. The regular season wraps up next week with a pair of road games: vs. New Mexico Junior College on Monday, March 4 at 6:30 pm MST, then against Western Texas College on Thursday, March 7 at 6:00 pm CST.

"We're starting to run out of real estate, but as coaches, we're going to keep working hard for to prepare our players and try and win these last two games," finished Schooley. "That's going to be tough on the road, especially with NMJC fighting for a playoff spot and Western – they play really well at home – will be looking for a little revenge after losing here on a last-second shot. But I'm proud of our guys – some of our freshmen have really grown up – and we're looking for them to continue to get better and finish out this season on a strong note."