No. 22 NMJC (MBB) Upsets No. 2 Howard

The No. 22 Thunderbirds upset No. 2 Howard College in convincing fashion 80-64 on Thursday, Feb. 12.

"They're a really good defensive team, one of the best in the country. They have great size all over the floor," NMJC men's basketball head coach Luke Mackay said. "A big emphasis for us was spacing the floor and making them come outside to the 3-point line and chase us. We made a few shots early and that drew them out and then that allowed guys like Ladji and Delang to go down there and put pressure on the paint and pressure on the rim."

The win was the highest-ranked victory during NMJC men's head coach Luke Mackay's tenure.

NMJC jumped out in front 26-17 at the 9:00 mark in the first half. The Hawks began to whittle down the lead to two points, 31-29, with under 1:30 left in the half. The T-Birds ended the first half with a narrow 33-29 lead. 

Howard briefly took a 40-39 lead on a 3-pointer with 15:46 left in the game. Then Michael Mackey and Garrison Phelps went on a tear scoring the next 16 points themselves. Mackey scored 11 and Phelps scored five in a 16-3 run that gave NMJC a 55-42 lead with under 12:00 to go.   

The Hawks never got back within single digits the rest of the game as NMJC continued to dominate, leading by as many as 21 points in the second half.  The 16-point upset handed the WJCAC leading Hawks their third loss of the season and second conference loss.  

"With their size and ability to get to the rim it was really all about on the defensive side trying to collapse it in and protect the paint," Coach Mackay said. "We wanted to keep them from getting shots in and around the paint and at the rim."  

Center Ladji Coulibaly had a monster performance for NMJC inside going 7-for-8 from the field to finish with 18 points and six rebounds. Forward Delang Muon recorded 14 points and five rebounds.

Michael Mackey was elite from outside going 4-for-5 from beyond the arc and finishing with 16 points. Kenny Fields ended the night with a career-high seven assists. 

The T-Birds shot 26-for-58 (44.8%) from the field, 11-of-34 (32.4%) from the 3-point line, and 17-of-22 (77.3%) from the free throw line. NMJC held the Hawks to 35.7% from the field.

NMJC is 15-2 when knocking down 10 or more 3-pointers. 

The T-Birds (7-3) are third in the WJCAC standings, trailing South Plains (8-3) and Howard (9-2).

The No. 22 Thunderbirds improve to 20-4 (7-3) on the year and will face Clarendon College in Clarendon, Texas Monday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. CST.