Things were competitive from the start when the Odessa College men’s basketball team hosted New Mexico Junior College in Western Junior College Athletic Conference play Wednesday at the OC Sports Center.
The matchup saw multiple lead changes and the Wranglers were able to put everything together to come away with a 89-86 victory.
Late free throws from Dontrell Hewlett and a game-high, 23-point effort from Daniss Jenkins helped the Wranglers pull away in a back-and-forth affair that started with New Mexico Junior College owning an early lead.
Odessa College head coach Kris Baumann said he felt like he needed to put his team in a better spot to win from a coaching standpoint.
“We had to outscore them tonight because we really had a hard time stopping them,” Baumann said. “The bottom line is I’ve got to do a better job coaching these guys; I’ve got to do a better job as a head coach because we’ve got really talented guys.”
Baumann added that he has to improve his methods in practice and in games to help his team reach its true potential.
The Thunderbirds took control early with a 6-1 lead and that advantage until there were five minutes remaining in the first half.
Odessa College tied the game up at 28-28 with a jump shot from Daniel Rivera and jumped ahead when Shakeem Alcindor finished a layup.
By the halftime break, New Mexico Junior College owned a one-point lead and forced the Wranglers to look for ways to regain the upper hand.
Jenkins went on to score 16 of his points in the second half, with Alcindor and Tre Richardson contributing six points each in the period to outscore the Thunderbirds 50-46 and come away with the victory.
It was Odessa College’s first conference win of the season, snapping a two-game losing streak that started at the end of nonconference play.
“Welcome to West Texas basketball, they’re all like this,” Baumann said. “We’ve got 15 more of these, they’re all going to be tough.
“I was really, really happy with how we stuck together.”
Jenkins also recorded 12 assists in the game for a double-double, while Richardson added 12 points and Dian Wright-Forde followed closely with 11.
Odessa College (9-5 overall, 1-0 WJCAC) continues its conference slate against Clarendon College at 3:45 p.m. Saturday in Clarendon, the final game before the holiday break.
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Odessa College 89,
New Mexico JC 86
NEW MEXICO JC (7-5 overall, 0-1 WJCAC)
Tommy Chatman 0-0 1-2 1, Elijah Beard 1-4 2-2 5, Dannie Smith 5-8 2-2 15, Dario Domingso 2-3 4-4 8, Mouhamed Mbaye 7-11 2-3 18, Devin Butts 4-10 0-0 9, Jordan Booker 6-16 8-8 20, Elijah Hoard 0-0 0-0 0, Josaphat Bilau 5-5 0-0 10. Totals 30-57 19-21 86.
ODESSA COLLEGE (9-5, 1-0)
Player Dian Wright-Forde 5-10 1-2 11, Daniss Jenkins 9-15 2-2 23, Dontrell Hewlett 2-8 4-6 9, Garfield Turner 0-2 0-0 0, Huie 1-1 0-0 2, BJ Francis 0-0 0-0 0, Darrell Armstrong Jr. 2-4 0-1 5, Daniel Rivera 4-7 1-4 9, Darrel Belcher 0-0 0-0 0, Mike Rivera 4-100-0 9, Tre Richardson 4-7 1-2 12, Shakeem Alcindor 3-3 3-4 9. Totals 34-67 12-21 89.
Halftime — New Mexico JC 40, Odessa College 39. 3-Point goals — New Mexico JC 7-20 (Beard 1-3, Smith 3-5, Mbaye 2-2, Butts 1-7, Booker 0-3), Odessa College 9-27 (Wright-Forde 0-2, Jenkins 3-7, Dontrell Hewlett 1-5. Armstrong Jr. 1-3, M. Rivera 1-4, Richardson 3-6). Total fouls — New Mexico JC 16, Odessa College 14. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — Odessa College bench. Rebounds — New Mexico JC 37 (Bilau 9), Odessa College 25 (Wright-Forde 4, Jenkins 4, M. Rivera 4). Assists — New Mexico JC 14 (Smith 6), Odessa College 19 (Jenkins 12).
