Not a whole lot stood in the Odessa College men’s basketball team’s way during its 77-48 win over New Mexico Military Institute Thursday at the OC Sports Center.
The only thing that really stopped the Wranglers was a 15-minute delay to start the game due to the refs arriving late from the Metroplex.
Other than that, Odessa College showed why it was ranked in the top 10 in the recent NJCAA poll as the No. 10 Wranglers (16-2 overall, 4-0 in WJCAC) remained undefeated in conference play.
After a close start to the game, the Wranglers began to break free, taking a 15-point halftime lead before going on a 16-3 run at the start of the second half to put away the Broncos.
Odessa College pushed its winning streak to five games.
New Mexico Military Institute fell to 6-12, 1-3.
“I thought we were more mature tonight,” Odessa College head coach Kris Baumann said. “I thought we played pretty well. We made 14 3-pointers which is always a good feeling. I thought we did a good job of that. We held them to 48 points. They’re a young team. They’re going to be really good in a year. Coach (Sean) Schooley does a great job with his teams. It’s hard to get through the WJCAC with a bunch of freshmen.”
Odessa College was led in scoring by Willie Lightfoot’s 19 points. He went 7-15 from inside shots and 5-10 on 3-pointers.
Esyah Pippa-White put up 15 points for the Wranglers, going 4-4 on inside shots, 3-3 on 3-pointers and 4-4 on free throws.
The Wranglers as a team went 16-51 on field goals, 8-21 on 3-pointers and 8-13 on free throws.
The Broncos were led by Donald Chapman and Leslie Okafor’s eight points.
Chapman went 3-100 on field goals and 2-3 on 3-pointers while Okafor went 4-5 from the floor.
NMMI went 29-60 on field goals, 14-24 on 3-pointers and 5-7 on free throws.
Both teams traded baskets throughout the first 10 minutes of the game as NMMI took a 12-10 lead.
It wasn’t long, though, before Darius Coleman scored a 3-pointer to put the Wranglers ahead, 13-12, with 11:17 left in the first half.
Brandon Maclin’s inside jumper made it 18-15 with 9:13 to go.
A block by Jordan Ray turned into a Wrangler basket off a dunk from Damonze Woods and the hosts took a five-point lead with 8:20 on the clock.
With 4:36 left in the half, the Wranglers had a 24-18 lead.
Odessa College continued to pull away as the Wranglers went on a 13-4 run to take a 37-22 lead.
A 3-pointer by Lightfoot gave the Wranglers a 40-25 lead at the halftime buzzer.
Odessa College kept up its effort in the second half.
Through the first eight minutes of the second half, the Broncos were limited to only three points.
“I thought that was the difference,” Baumann said. “We started the second half and broke the game open. We got a lot of guys into the game. It was good for us to play with a lot of guys.”
Pippa-White picked up a foul and was sent to the line where he made both free throws for a 49-28 lead with 16:03 left in the game.
Anouar Mellouk drove to the basket for a layup and completed the score, making it 51-28 soon after.
Pippa-White drilled a 3-pointer after a timeout and the Wranglers weren’t showing any signs of letting up.
Baskets continued to fall for Odessa College as the Wranglers pushed their lead to 69-37 with 7:18 remaining.
Odessa College’s Jonah Tuilata’s 3-pointer made it 73-43 with 3:07 left on the clock.
The Wranglers will be back in action at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Western Texas College in Snyder.
“They’re all hard. It’s difficult to win on the road in this league,” Baumann said. “Everyone wants to protect their home courts. You can’t overlook anyone in this league.”
The Broncos’ next game will be on the road when they face Midland College at 6 p.m. Jan. 25 at the Chaparral Center in Midland.
Both Odessa College and New Mexico Military Institute will face each other again on Feb. 19 in Roswell, N.M.
