Midland defeats Westerners in overtime

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  • Western Texas College guard Shannon James looks upcourt during Monday’s 66-60 overtime loss to Midland College. James finished with a game-high 16 points.
    Western Texas College guard Shannon James looks upcourt during Monday’s 66-60 overtime loss to Midland College. James finished with a game-high 16 points.
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Western Texas College survived a second-half scoring run, but the Westerners could not overcome one in overtime.
Midland College scored six unanswered points to claim a 66-60 victory over WTC in a Western Junior College Athletic Conference basketball game Monday.
The Westerners led 36-30 at halftime and the game was tied 57-57 at the end of regulation.
“It hurt when Midland scored the first six points of overtime,” WTC head coach Larren Silver said. “Midland started the second half with the 8-0 scoring run. The players are starting to learn when a team gets a scoring run not to become alarmed. We battled back with good defense.”
Shannon James led the Westerners with 16 points. Traylin Prejean and Shane Johnson each had 11 points. Curtiss Anderson had 11 rebounds.
WTC had a 46-41 rebounding advantage, but three-point and free throw shooting determined the game. The Westerners made 4-of-23 3-pointers and 12-of-22 free throws.
“You can’t beat Midland by shooting threes that way and making 55 percent at the free-throw line,” Silver said. “We had good effort and played with a lot of tenacity. The players have shown me a lot of spunk in the last two games.”
Jachai Simmons led Midland with 14 points while Solomon Hainna added 11 points.
The Westerners held a five-point lead midway through the first half and later increased it to 32-25.
Jason Nunez made two free throws, but the Chaps responded with Trevan Goad’s 3-pointer, which cut WTC’s lead to 34-28. The Westerners led 36-30 at halftime.
Midland started the second half with an 8-0 scoring run. After a 38-38 tie, the Chaps went on a 12-1 to take a 50-39 lead.
The Westerners gained momentum with a 14-5 run and trailed 55-53 with 2:33 left in regulation. Xavier Ledet’s two free throws tied the game at 55-55 with 2:09 left.
Simmons gave Midland a 57-55 lead, but Nunez tied the game at 57-57 with two free throws with 18 seconds left in regulation.
After a defensive stop, WTC had an opportunity to win the game when Prejean’s 3-pointer from the  corner hit the rim and bounced away.
“We had a good shot at the end of regulation,” Silver said. “It just didn’t fall.”  
The Westerners (10-8, 1-3) will play the next two games on the road. WTC will travel to Odessa College Thursday and to Borger for a matchup with Frank Phillips College on Monday.
“We have two tough road games ahead,” Silver said. “We just need to keep grinding.”

Midland College scorers — Jachai Simmons 14, Solomon Hainna 11, Norbertas Gigs 8, Bruce Ervin 8, James McPherson 8, Daeshon Francis 7, Travin Coad 7, Dylan Cham 3.
WTC scorers — Shannon James 16, Traylin Prejean 13, Shane Johnson 11, Xavier Ledet 9, Curtiss Anderson 5, D.J. Thorpe 3, Jason Nunez 2, Christian Hewitt 1.
WTC statistics — Jeffrey Uju 3 rebounds; Shannon James 3 rebounds, 1 blocked shot, 3 steals; Xavier Ledet 4 rebounds, 1 steal; Shane Johnson 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal; Curtiss Anderson 11 rebounds, 2 blocked shots; Christian Hewitt 4 rebounds; Traylin Prejean 7 rebounds; D.J. Thorpe 1 rebound, 1 assist; Jason Nunez 1 rebound; Kolbe Kinghorn 3 rebounds, 1 assist.