The Bronco Basketball team wrapped up the NMMI Classic on Saturday with a 88-59 win over the Albuquerque Basketball Club's Turquoise squad at Cahoon Armory.
NMMI Sports Press
Eight teams participated in the event, including the home Broncos. ABC brought two teams, Red and Turquoise and four-year schools Adams State and University of the Southwest sent JV squads. Fellow junior college Trinidad State and conference rival South Plains College were present, as well as public tribal land-grant university Navajo Tech from Crownpoint, NM.
"This was a nice little tournament before the break. Lots of different kinds of teams," said NMMI head coach Sean Schooley. "Brandon (Mason) and those guys at ABC do a tremendous job and they really go the distance for New Mexico players. I really appreciate them coming down to play."
The Broncos started slow against ABC-T, and trailed for a few minutes before righting the ship towards the end of the first half. NMMI shot 33 percent from the field during the first period, making just three of their 15 3-point attempts, but going 4-of-5 from the free-throw line.
"We started kind of slow both days," Schooley said. "It's been a long, long month. We've put some road miles on these kids. These first dozen games didn't go exactly how we wanted, but they've sure shown a lot of improvement."
The Broncos improved in the second half, shooting 47 percent overall and hitting 38 percent of their 3-pointers. They stayed sharp at the charity stripe sinking 6-of-7.
Freshman forward/center Yanis Ndjonga led all Bronco scorers with 18 points and seven rebounds. Freshman forward Quentin Bolton recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. Freshman guard/forward Jonathan Burroughs put in 11 and pulled down six rebounds and freshman forward/center Donovan Long added 10 buckets and seven boards.
Three other Broncos had nine apiece as the Broncos were able to get a lot of players involved in the scoring. NMMI met it's team goals of 40-plus rebounds with 60, and 12 or fewer turnovers with 12.
"We really rebounded well today. Couldn't shot it better, but it wasn't too bad. Better at the free throw line," said Schooley. "Donovan is getting more confident. He'd come off an injury when he first got here and you're going to see him get a lot better."
Schooley said he was impressed with his all-new squad's dedication to academics, with several players sporting GPAs in the high 3s. He also said the team is getting along well and building good bonds, while learning about the different cultures each player comes from.
"From France to Cameroon, Canada to Serbia, we definitely have an international flavor," Schooley said. "Whether they are from overseas or not, adjusting to cadet-athlete life isn't easy. I was a cadet-athlete and I can kind of see the signs of where they're at with it."
The Broncos get a much needed break, but when they get back to campus on December 27, it's back to work with another home tournament before Western Junior College Athletic Conference play begins on Jan. 7 with a road trip to Frank Phillips College in Borger, TX.
The Broncos got a look at SPC over the weekend, who have a new coach for the first time in more than two decades. Schooley said several other conference rivals have new coaches as well.
"It's going to be a wide open conference," Schooley said. "I think there's a couple teams that are clearly a cut above, but for the most part, you have to take care of your home business when it's a more wide open league. It's hard to win on the road here."
Schooley said new coaches or not, new styles of play or not, the Broncos need to worry about themselves and what they do.
"We have to handle our business more than worrying about what other teams do," he said. "This group is starting to buy in and we hope that after the break we can come back fresh and ready to run."