Hawks knock off No.1 South Plains 76-69
Howard College pulled off the big upset Thursday night at Dorothy Garrett Coliseum, as the Hawks knocked off the No. 1 team in the nation in South Plains in front of a large home crowd.
The Hawks led 41-31 at the half and fended off the No. 1 Texans in the second to secure the win. The Texans outscored Howard College in the second half 38-35 but the 41 points in the first half proved to be the difference maker.
The Hawks got off to a good start going on a 9-0 run before South Plains got on the board. For the majority of the game it was a closely contested game in the first half up until about the four minute mark before the Hawks began to slowly pull away for good.
Despite outscoring the Hawks in the second half, South Plains was unable to retake the lead from Hawks as they fended off the No. 1 Texans.
Howard College was led by Joey Madimba who scored a game high 29 points while shooting 9-for-18 in the field. Madimba also recorded 13 rebounds with one assist and a block. Madimba also went 7-for-7 on the free throw line. Madimba scored 13 of his 29 points in the first half alone.
Nate Deer contributed 17 points for the Hawks as he ended the game shooting 7-for-6 in the field while also going 3-for-5 on the free throw line. Deer also tallied six rebounds and two assists. Alexzaye Johnson recorded 13 points shooting 3-for-4 in the field and 7-for-7 on the free throw line.
South Plains was led by Jermahri Hill who scored 28 points for the Texans. Hill went 8-for20 in the field and 10-for-12 at the free throw line. Malique Ewin contributed 16 points for the Texans.
The Hawks (17-10, 5-8) will travel to Snyder on Monday as they get ready to take on Western Texas College in continued WJCAC Conference play. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
On the women's side, the Lady Hawks fell to the Lady Texans 59-44. South Plains led 30-26 at the half and would outscore the Lady Hawks in the second half 29-18 to secure the win.
The Lady Hawks were led by Elysa Martinez who recorded 11 points while shooting 3-for-12 in the field and 4-for-8 at the free throw line. Martinez also tallied three rebounds and four steals.
Angela Vergara contributed 10 points while shooting 2-for-8 in the field and tallying five rebounds and two assists. The Lady Hawks will also travel to Snyder on Monday to take on Western Texas College in continued conference play. Tipoff is set for 5:45 p.m.