Western Texas College kept pace with Odessa College after defeating Clarendon College 88-54 in a Western Junior College Athletic Conference basketball game at The Coliseum Monday.
The Westerners (20-8, 12-3) and Odessa (23-5, 12-3) are tied for second place in the conference with one game left in the season. The two teams split conference games this season and if they are tied after Thursday, power rankings will determine the seeding for the Region V tournament.
“All we need to do is take care of our business at South Plains and everything will be all right,” WTC head coach Andre Owens said. “We need to get another win.”
The Westerners broke the game open early in the first half with a 10-2 run. At one point in the first half, WTC held a 27-9 lead, but Clarendon was able to cut it to 30-20. A 10-5 run helped WTC build a 40-25 halftime lead.
Over the first five minutes of the second half, WTC missed only one field goal in building a 58-35 lead.
Kevin Hicks and DaQuan Jeffries led the Westerners with 16 and 14 points, respectively. Jordan Tolbert and Anton Bilous each had 13 points while Jordan Evans added 10 points.
WTC made 33-of-57 for the game, including 17-of-27 3-pointers. The Westerners made 10-of-14 free throws.
“We wanted to play better defense during the second half,” Owens said. “We kept putting pressure on them. We had 33 field goals on 30 assists and shot almost 58 percent. The only thing we needed to do better is to shoot more free throws.”
Neorck Brown scored 18 points for Clarendon and JaQuan Horne had nine points.
Owens said he appreciated the sophomores staying with the program after his promotion to head coach.
“It meant a lot that they believed in me and came back to play their sophomore year with me,” Owens said. “They had a good game against Clarendon.”
Owens said the team will have to step up its game beginning Thursday at South Plains.
“The players will accept the challenge and be ready to play South Plains,” Owens said. “We play better on the road than at home. We will have to see what happens.”
Clarendon College scorers — Neorck Brown 18, JaQuan Horne 9, Marcus Burwell 6, Walker Small 6, Thomas Clement 6, Erik Nyberg 5, Xavier Trent 4.
WTC scorers — Kevin Hicks 16, DaQuan Jeffries 14, Jordan Tolbert 13, Anton Bilous 13, Jordan Evan 12, Brian Roberts 7, Kolbe Kinghorn 6, Christian Bennings 5, Jordon Fulleron 1, Demarcus Hartfield 1.
WTC statistics — DaQuan Jeffries 9 rebounds, 5 assists; Kevin Hicks 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals; Jordan Tolbert 5 rebounds, 8 assists, 6 steals; Anton Bilous 2 rebounds, 4 assist, 1 steal; Kolbe Kinghorn 2 rebounds, 3 assists; Zarious Moffett 1 assist; Jordan Evans 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal; Brian Roberts 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block; Ja’Niro Lane 4 rebounds; Demarcus Hatfield 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal.