NMMI Sports Press
Tonight's junior college men's basketball game at New Mexico Military Institute's remodeled Cahoon Armory gymnasium will be broadcast live on national streaming service ESPN+ at 6:30 p.m.
ESPN has been featuring more junior college sports on their streaming platform and decided on the Institute's home game against No. 4 Odessa College because they wanted to feature a nationally-ranked squad on the road in a hostile environment.
"NMMI is pleased to be able to host this event on a national platform to showcase not only Bronco Basketball, but Western Junior College Athletic Conference basketball, which is a high-caliber brand of basketball," said the Institute's Athletic Director Jose Barron.
The Broncos didn't return a single player from last year's regional tournament team and among the 12 on the roster, just three are sophomores. Their inexperience has shown through a 1-11 start to conference play, but the all-new Broncos have played better at home recently, dropping a close one to Frank Phillips College and losing by 11 to a Clarendon team that recently handed Odessa their only conference loss.
While an 11-point home loss is by no means acceptable, the team showed improvement in limiting turnovers and shooting free throws, with three players finishing the game with double-digit point totals.
Bronco head coach Sean Schooley said he's seen good progress from some of his young guns such as freshman forward/center Yanis Ndjonga, freshman forward Quentin Bolton, freshman forward/center Donovan Long and freshman guard/forward Aaron Williams Jr.
"Yanis has been a steady performer. He plays hard. Most of the time he's battling guys three inches taller. Quentin is another one. You can't fault his effort and he's really learning how to play. Donovan has really come on. And Aaron, who didn't come in thinking he'd play point guard, has really started to understand the position. And all these guys are true freshman."
Through 12 conference game, Ndjonga leads the Broncos with 10.7 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per contest and a 44 percent shooting rate from the field.
Bolton is right behind Ndjonga with 9.8 points and seven boards per game. Long has only played about five minutes per game in conference play, but makes the most of it with five points per contest on 45 percent shooting. Williams averages 38 percent from long range and 83 percent at the charity stripe.
Odessa has been rolling all season, only losing two games, the first by a point on an early road trip to Idaho and the second the aforementioned loss to Clarendon on Feb. 6. The Wranglers will apply plenty of pressure and try to get the young Broncos to play their game.
"Odessa will be pressing us, trying to get us in an up-tempo game and we're just not built for that," said Schooley. "If we keep our focus and compete, it should be an entertaining game."
If a loud, packed house is what ESPN wants, that's what they'll get tonight at Cahoon with a gym full of cadets that just finished a long day of classes, physical training, athletics responsibilities and troop duties.
"When the Corps is there, it's a lot of fun," said Schooley. "It's a chance for us to spotlight our students and our great facilities. And to show people that this is still a college environment, and a great one."
Barron said he hopes NMMI can continue to be a popular subject for ESPN+ broadcasts, showcasing the Institute's unique campus atmosphere and hard-working, dedicated cadet-athletes.
"We're proud to have hosted several other ESPN+ broadcasts this year with very good results," Barron said. "We can't wait for the broader public to have the chance to enjoy watching this game in our brand new facility with a full house of enthusiastic, cheering cadets."