NMMI Sports Press
The Bronco Basketball team dropped a home conference game to visiting Clarendon College by a final score of 77-66 Thursday night at Cahoon Armory, in a contest that saw NMMI hang with the longer, deeper Bulldogs in several statistical categories except one.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Broncos only trailed the 'Dogs in rebounds by four, had only turned it over eight times to their 11 and had three players in double figures. Unfortunately, it took 68 shots to get there, with only 19 makes for a 28 percent night from the field.
The Bulldogs shot 45 percent, making eight more buckets on eight less attempts.
NMMI went 24-for-28 from the free-throw line, while Clarendon shot fewer but made a higher percentage with 15-out-of-17.
The Broncos fell in a 9-0 hole out of the gate and the Bulldogs held their largest lead of the game midway through the first half at 21-4. NMMI only managed five field goals in the first 20 minutes, but stayed in the game with 13 made freebies.
The Institute cut the lead to 11 by halftime and then back to single digits with the first make of the second half. But Clarendon would answer with a 3-pointer and never let the lead fall below 10 again.
The Broncos more than doubled their shooting percentage in the second half and kept shooting well from the charity stripe. Freshmen Yanis Ndjonga and Quentin Bolton scored 17 points, with the majority coming in the second half. Ndjonga also had 11 rebounds and went 8-of-9 from the free-throw line.
Freshman guard Aaron Williams Jr. added 10 points and made all four of his freebies.
The Bulldogs have been on a roll lately, winning their last four contests including an 11-point victory over conference-leading Odessa College on Monday.
The Broncos (8-17 overall, 1-10 in conference) travel to Big Spring, Texas on Monday to take on the Howard Hawks at 6:30 p.m. MST.
On Feb. 16, the Broncos will host the NJCAA's No. 2 team in the country, the Odessa Wranglers, for a special ESPN+ broadcast. The game will be mandatory for cadets.