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Western Texas College’s Miles McDougal (2) looks downcourt against Ranger during Tuesday’s 83-74 win.
Western Texas College didn’t panic after a 12-point halftime lead disappeared in the second half.
Ranger College rallied to take a 61-60 lead, but the Westerners used an 11-2 run to claim an 83-74 win in a non-conference basketball game at The Coliseum Tuesday.
WTC (9-1) rebounded from Saturday’s loss at Temple College and ended Ranger’s nine-game winning streak.
“Ranger took the lead in the second half and our guys came back to win,” WTC head coach Andre Owens said. “The players showed me a lot by doing that. We played a good first half and took advantage of how they played defense. We also did a good job of protecting the ball.”
With Ranger leading 19-18 in the first half, WTC used a 16-7 run to take a 34-26 lead and by the end of the half held a 45-33 lead.
Nigel Allen came off the bench to score a game-high 25 points with four rebounds, five assists and one steal. Allen made 7-of-8 field goals, including three 3-pointers.
Miles McDougal scored 15 points and Demarcus Hartfield added 10 points to go along with eight rebounds.
Johnnie Jones finished with four blocked shots.
“Nigel is in the gym working every day,” Owens said. “He had a good game and only played 19 minutes. Johnnie came in when (Da’Rhon) Mitchell got in foul trouble.”
Caleb Smith scored 21 points for Ranger College. while Jahmel Bodrick had 20 points and six rebounds.
“Smith is a Division I transfer and a valuable player for Ranger,” Owens said. “Bodrick came into the game and played a monster game. We couldn’t stop him.”
WTC will play at the University of the Southwest JV Tuesday before opening the Western Junior College Athletic Conference opener with Howard College on Dec. 2 at The Coliseum.
“Howard will be a tough game,” Owens said. “We will be concentrating on rebounding better and playing physical without fouling. Those two things will be the big keys when we start the conference schedule. We are giving teams too many free throws. We also need to do a better job of making free throws.”
Ranger College scorers — Caleb Smith 21, Jahmel Bodrick 20, Crishawn Cook 9, Devonte Patterson 7, Luis Rivas 7, K’Malik Archer 7, Keyshand Dixon 2, Elijah Ifejeh 1.
WTC scorers — Nigel Allen 25, Miles McDougal 15, Demarcus Hartfield 10, Jordon Fullerton 9, Johnnie Jones 6, Isaiah Boissard 4, Ja’Niro Lane 4, Dieu Merci Betonkoumessou 4, Zac Saddler 2, Da’Rhon Mitchell 2, James Edwards 2.
WTC statistics — Miles McDougal 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal; Isaiah Boissard 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 blocked shot; Zac Saddler 5 rebounds, 1 assist; Da’Rhon Mitchell 2 rebounds; Demarcus Hartfield 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 blocked shot; James Edwards 1 rebound; Nigel Allen 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal; Jack Neale 2 rebounds; Jordon Fullerton 2 rebounds; Ja’Niro Lane 4 rebounds; Johnnie Jones 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 blocked shots; Dieu Merci Betonkoumessou 2 rebounds.