NMMI Sports Press
New Mexico Military Institute head coach Sean Schooley said his team could make some noise in the second half of conference play, and his Bronco basketball did exactly that by knocking off the No. 8 team in the nation, Odessa College, 62-53.
"I'm kind of stunned, to be honest with you," said coach Schooley after the big win. "I think we just played a tremendous defensive game and then finally shot well in our own gym. Plus, we out-rebounded them – that's saying something, because Odessa is big."
"Cass [Bonjanski] and Leslie [Okafor], they don't show a lot in the stat book, but they were in there battling those guys who were four-inches taller and just rumblin' the whole night," continued Schooley.
NMMI trailed the Wranglers by three at the half, 34-31, despite excellent shooting from the field, almost 59% overall, including four-of-seven from behind the three-point arc.
"We're still not an offensive juggernaut, but we definitely made some plays," said Schooley. "We had three players score in double figures – that's huge."
Those players were all freshman: Jonathan Burroughs as the game's high scorer with 18; Donald Chapman with 13 and Justin Bramao with 11.
Burroughs also had four blocks – NMMI had an outstanding 11 as a team – and Bramao led the Broncos with eight rebounds, while Chapman was the top assist-man with four.
The Institute took the lead, and never let it slip, at the midpoint of the second half: Bramao missed his opening free throw on a one-and-one, but got his own rebound and put-back to put NMMI up 43-42 with 11:01 left, igniting a 7-0 run.
Odessa worked it back to within two, 54-52, with 3:47 remaining, but a bucket by Burroughs along with a free throw and nifty drive for two by Chapman put NMMI up by six, at the 2:29 mark, 58-52, and the Wranglers never got closer than five during the last two-minute stretch.
"We tightened up at the end and missed six free throws in under a minute, maybe showed our [young] age – and still had a few too many turnovers," finished Schooley. "But overall, I was just extremely proud of our guys. I think we've just been playing a whole lot better across the board and are finally believing in the system that coach Hoff has put in defensively. Coach Hoff just has everyone so prepared, and when they know it and then execute, it's really fun to watch and it's easy to coach."
With the win, NMMI improves to 9-17 overall and 4-8 in conference. Considering the fourth-place team in conference, Midland College, sports a 5-5 record (pending tonight's results) and that the top four teams make it to the regional post-season tournament, NMMI's win against Odessa puts them right there in the mix, with four conference matchups remaining.
NMMI's next game will be next week at home vs. Midland College on Monday, Feb. 26 – tip-off scheduled for 6:30 pm in the Cahoon Armory gym.