T-Bird (MBB) Upsets No. 10 Odessa 
February 2, 2026

T-Bird (MBB) Upsets No. 10 Odessa 

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The No. 24 T-Birds overcame a 12-point deficit in the second half to upset No. 10 Odessa College on Monday, Feb. 2. 

The last time NMJC beat Odessa on the road was Jan. 13, 2014. The victory is their highest ranked win in the Luke Mackay tenure. The Thunderbirds now have four top 15 wins in the last two years. 

The first half between the Wranglers and T-Birds featured 10 lead changes. NMJC led late in the half, 24-22, following a three-pointer from Xavier Perry at the 4:37 mark. Odessa finished the half strong going on a 9-2 run to head into the break ahead 31-26.

The Wranglers extended their lead to 12 points with 11:17 to go in the game. A 14-3 run highlighted by a Grigorije Avramovic deep 3-pointer pulled the T-Birds within a point, 52-51, at the 6:48 mark. 

Delang Muon tied the score at 54 with a triple at the 4:09 mark. Muon made two more 3-pointers in the run as NMJC took a commanding 68-55 lead with 1:10 left.  Muon finished off the Wranglers with a jam to make it 70-55 T-Birds.

NMJC outscored Odessa 16-1 from the 3:55 to 42 seconds left. The T-Birds would go on to win 70-60 to earn their fifth conference win of the season and now sit in fourth place in the WJCAC standings.

Ladji Coulibaly tied a career high in rebounds with 15. Kemauri Millender finished with 13 points each. Grigorije Avramovic and Delang Muon both had all 13 of their points in the second half. Avramovic also recorded four points and four assists.   

Hobbs local Michael Mackey led the bench scorers with seven points.

The T-Birds shot 21-for-60 (35%) from the field, 10-of-32 (31.3%) from the 3-point line, and 18-of-25 (72%) from the free throw line. NMJC forced 17 turnovers and held the Wranglers to 35.8% from the field.

The Thunderbirds improve to 18-4 (5-3) on the year and will face Western Texas in Snyder, Texas Monday, Feb. 9 at 7:30 p.m. CST.