T-Birds defeat Hawks for top spot in WJCAC

T-Birds defeat Hawks for top spot in WJCAC

EDUARDO MIRANDA NEWS-SUN

Thunderbird Joao Camargo scores on a slam dunk in the first quarter against Howard College Thursday night in Caster Activity Center. The T-Birds defeated the Hawks 73-58.

After playing the last two games on the road, the New Mexico Junior College men's basketball team returned to Caster Activity Center for a Western Junior College Athletic Conference game. The Thunderbirds welcomed the Howard College Hawks Thursday night looking to stay undefeated in WJCAC play.

The Thunderbirds defeated the Hawks 73-58 to improve to 14-4 overall and 4-0 in WJCAC. The win moves NMJC into sole possession of first place in the conference, ahead of Clarendon College by a game.

"It was huge. I was very proud of our guys effort," NMJC head coach Luke Adams said. "I thought we could have done a lot better in certain areas especially our turnovers. We are thankful to learn a lesson and get the win as well."

The Thunderbirds had four players score in double digits with Keaton Harvey scoring a game high 20 points. He did most of his damage at the free throw line going 12 for 12 while also grabbing five rebounds. Terence Lewis had 19 points and six boards. Antonio Bridy had 14 points to lead the second unit and Toug Dol scored 10 points with six boards before fouling out late in the game.

When you look at the statistics for the Thunderbirds and Hawks game, many areas were won by Howard College. The Hawks won the paint battle 32-28, points off turnovers 30-16 and bench points 18-14. The teams tied in fast break points at 8-8 and NMJC won second chance points at 8-7. Yet the NMJC win comes down to three categories, rebound, free throw shooting and the three-point line. The Thunderbirds outrebounded their opponent 30-17 and had 28 tries at the charity stripe to Howards' 16. The home team shot 92.9 percent from the free throw line. It allowed them to overcome 25 turnovers; with many coming from the two players press and trap the Hawks used in the second half. The others came from traveling calls when the players forgot to establish the dribble before moving. NMJC hit three three-pointers to Howard College's one; all three came in the first half.

In the first half the Thunderbirds and Hawks exchanged points, with neither team truly getting any kind offensive flow. The halfcourt offense was nonexistence and they relied on the individual talents of their players. Fans in attendance watched the lead change four times and the game even up four times.

The x-factor in the first half for the

T h u n d e r b i rd s w a s Bridy's play off the bench. He scored 11 points and had three steals. He gave the Thunderbirds another playmaker on the court and helped create space for Mareng Gatkuoth, Joao Camargo and himself in hitting the only three-pointers in the half. That sparked a stronger performance in the defensive end and gave the Thunderbirds a 35-22 lead at the half.

Adams called the three points shooting in the first and the free throw shooting in the second half as a huge factor in the win. He said, "we told our guys that they (Howard) is a very tough and gridy team. We shot only four in the first half; we made that a huge (objective). I give credit to our guys they draw the contact and made some tough shots around the rim."

In the second half NMJC went to the free throw line and took advantage going 22 for 24. It was the saving grace as the Thunderbirds struggled to get past the two men trap employed by the Hawks. They were never able to truly understand how to beat the two men press, and in many occasions the ball handler of Bridy, Rafael Jenkins, Hervey, or Junub Chuol all walked right into the trap.

When the ball handler was trapped the other four players were caught ball watching and none would go down to give the trapped player an outlet pass. Instead

Howard College was able to get steals for easy layups or an extra possession from a desperation jump pass. Adams took the blame for his team not being able to break the trap. He said, "That's not their fault. The pressure and stuff is on me and we should have gone over that. I kind of went over shoot around, and that was on my next list but we were already over so I moved on."

There were a few moments when the Thunderbirds were able to break the trap. On a few occasions Bridy avoided going to the corners and stayed in the middle of the court. He would then be able to either make a pass to one of the corners or he could split the defenders with his dribble. Other times was when the Thunderbirds employed quick passes and not allowing Howard to get into the trap. When they broke the press, the Thunderbirds found themselves with a chance to score in the paint. Adams pointed to those moments when his team was more aggressive in helping to stop the bleeding in turnovers and get buckets. Its something he wants to see more from his team, and when they are the more aggressive team they are capable of overcoming a 30 turnover night to get a home win.

Up next for the Thunderbirds is a road trip Monday to South Plains College at 7:30 p.m. CST. Adams is looking for his team to be ready to face another quality opponent.

"Get ready to compete. We always respect our opponents," he said. "They are obviously a very good program and very well coached. We are going to try winning every single possession and being the best team. If we do that we have a chance."

NMJC'S Terence Lewis goes up for a contested jump shot in the Thunderbirds WJCAC win Thursday night.