T-Bird (MBB) 2nd Half Rally Defeats FPC

NMJC men's basketball rallied back from down 11 points in the second half to defeat Frank Phillips College 82-79 on Tuesday, Jan. 27.

The Thunderbirds led 44-40 at the break after the Plainsmen hit a 3-pointer as time expired to pull within four points. 

Frank took the lead in the second half and led by as many as 11 points, 72-61, with 7:02 left in the game. A Delang Muon 3-point play sparked the Thunderbirds rally at the 6:50 mark. The very next offensive play Muon completed another and-one to cut the deficit to 72-67 with 6:28 left. 

The Thunderbirds made four free throws and got a steal and a jumper by RJ Nance off an inbound to take a 73-72 lead. Michael Mackey drained a three-pointer with 4:35 left to push the T-Birds lead to 76-72. Marquan Harris added to the advantage with a free throw that made the score 77-72, ending the 16-0 run by NMJC with 3:15 left.

The Plainsmen cut the lead to one point 80-79 with just over a minute to play. RJ Nance knocked down two free throws to move ahead by three points with 30 seconds left in the game. Frank had multiple attempts to try and tie the game, but the Thunderbirds held on defensively defeating the Plainsmen by three points, 82-79.  

Delang Muon finished with 21 points and six rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting from the field. 

Freshman center Ladji Coulibaly ended the night with 13 points six rebounds, three steals, three assists, and three blocks. Sophomore guard RJ Nance finished with 16 points.

Grigorije Avramovic recorded nine rebounds, seven assists, and three steals. Michael Mackey scored nine points and notched five rebounds on 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc. 

The T-Birds shot 28-for-67 (41.8%) from the field, 11-of-30 (36.7%) from the 3-point line, and 15-of-20 (75%) from the free throw line. NMJC forced 21 turnovers.

The Thunderbirds move to 16-4 (3-3) on the year and will face in-state rival NMMI in Hobbs, NM Thursday, Jan. 29 at 6 p.m. CST.