Westerners hold off NMMI in conference home opener

Western Texas College’s fast second-half start and composure late in the game paid off against New Mexico Military Institute Thursday.
The Westerners (10-6, 2-1) led by 17 points in the second half before NMMI (5-12, 1-3) cut it to 53-50. WTC held on for a 57-50 National Junior College Athletic Conference win.
DeQuan Jeffries scored a game-high 22 points and had six rebounds. Jordan Tolbert finished with 12 points, nine assists and three steals. Brian Roberts had eight rebounds and four blocks.
DeMarco Enoch led the Broncos with 13 points while Maurice Coleman had 12 points.
The Westerners trailed 10-3 early, but scored eight unanswered points to take the lead. NMMI answered with three consecutive field goals, but Tolbert’s 3-pointer tied the game at 19-19 with 6:12 left in the first half.
WTC broke the tie on a Tolbert jumper and eventually took a 26-22 halftime lead.
“We play better basketball when we have a lot of energy, like at the start of the second half,” Westerner head coach Andre Owens said. “New Mexico Military slowed down the game. I wished we would have played better at the end of the game and we need to do that in the future. We did what was needed at the end of the game.”
WTC led 51-36 with eight minutes left in the game, but the Broncos went on a 9-0 run and later Davis Steelman’s 3-pointer cut the deficit to 53-50 with 31 seconds to go. NMMI made two free throws following a WTC technical foul during a substitution. The wrong WTC player came off, but did not check back in with officials before returning to the court.
The Westerners had two defensive stops while Jeffries and Tolbert each made two free throws.
Owens liked the way his team started the conference season. He said the team’s focus will be on the conference race. The Westerners will play at Midland College Monday and host Odessa College Thursday. Both games will start at 7:30 p.m.
“Hard work will keep us going and we don’t need to look back,” Owens said. “Everything we have achieved this season came from hard work. We have a tough week ahead. We just need to keep working and playing hard.”
NMMI scorers — DeMarco Enoch 13, Maurice Coleman 12, Davis Steelman 8, Will Sessoms 7, Chukuka Emili 4, Jake Valero 3, Marion Laveau-Alcindor 2, Lenny Kadisha 1.
WTC scorers — DaQuan Jeffries 22, Jordan Tolbert 12, Anton Bilous 8, Jordan Evans 5, Kolbe Kinghorn 5, Kevin Hicks 3, Christian Bennings 2.
WTC statistics — DeQuan Jeffries 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks; Kevin Hicks 1 rebound, 1 steal; Jordan Tolbert 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals; Brian Roberts 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 4 blocks; Anton Bilous 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal; Zarious Moffett 4 rebounds, 2 assists; Jordan Evans 3 rebounds, 1 steal; Ja’Niro Lane 1 rebound; Christian Bennings 2 rebounds; Kolbe Kinghorn 3 rebounds.