T-Birds pick up key road win against Howard

BIG SPRING, Texas — Malique Trent scored 26 points, including draining a key 3-pointer late, and the New Mexico Junior College men's basketball team handed Howard College its first conference loss in a 75-69 win on the road Thursday at Dorothy Garrett Coliseum.

The Thunderbirds (15-6, 4-3) with the victory picks up their third straight win and moves into a tie for third place in the conference with No. 24 Odessa College (16-4, 4-3) – two games back of first-place Howard (15-5, 6-1) and No. 25 South Plains (16-4, 6-1).

NMJC was down 56-54 with 6:40 left before a Cullen Russo breakaway dunk capped a mini 5-0 run to take a 59-56 advantage.

The T-Birds still held a three-point advantage when Trent drained a 3-pointer with 1:08 left to give NMJC a 70-64 lead over Howard. From there the T-Birds were able to sink their free throws and pick up a needed road victory to get back into the hunt in conference play.

Trent finished 5-for-8 from 3-point range to help him finish with a game-high 26 points for NMJC after scoring 25 points in the T-Birds' last contest – a win over Midland on Jan. 15. Six-foot-11 post Ray Barreno had 11 points and five rebounds for the T-Birds, Desmond Medder had nine points while Rene Esparza had eight points and five rebounds.

Sam Finley led Howard with 22 points while Will Ferguson had 16 points and six assists.

NMJC tied a season low with seven turnovers.

The T-Birds host Clarendon College (4-15, 1-5) 7:45 p.m. Monday at Caster Activity Center in Hobbs.