T-Birds fall short against South Plains, 95-86
Teams combine to go 22-for-41 from 3-point range
LEVELLAND, Texas — The New Mexico Junior College men's basketball team trailed South Plains College by just three with under a minute left before the Texans used a three-point play by Lincoln Davis to pull away for a 95-86 victory Saturday at the Texan Dome.
A Ray Barreno bucket with 1:03 left cut the Thunderbirds' deficit to 87-84 before Davis' three-point play ignited an 8-0 run by the Texans to end the game.
The game was closely contested with 17 ties and 26 lead changes. It also inlcuded sharp shooting from 3-point range as NMJC (12-6, 1-3) went 9-for-17 from beyond the arc while South Plains (11-3, 2-1) went 13-for-24.
Cullen Russo led NMJC with 21 points, including going 3-for-3 from 3-point range. Jeremy Postell came off the bench for 19 points, going 5-for-8 from beyond the arc, while Desmond Medder had 16 points.
South Plains got a huge lift off the bench from Pat Birt as he finished with a game-high 34 points and went 7-for-11 from 3-point range. Andre Spight added 16 points and five assists.
The T-Birds take on Odessa College 7:45 p.m. Monday at Caster Activity Center.
