T-Bird Escape Westerners Furious Rally

NMJC men's basketball held off a late charge by Western Texas College on Monday night to win 74-71.

The T-Birds led by as many as 25 points in the first half. NMJC would head into the break leading the Westerners by 21 points, 45-24.

The Thunderbirds maintained a comfortable edge over the Westerners in the second half leading by 17 points, 66-49, with 7:19 to play in the game. Then the script flipped. Western Texas caught fire and could not miss shooting 17-for-25 (68%) from the field in the second half. 

The Westerners went on a 11-0 run in just two minutes of play to make the score a six-point game, 66-60, with 5:14 left. Western Texas cut the lead to as close as two points, 69-67, with just under 3:30 to go in the game.

The final possession was chaos for the T-Birds. Clinging to a three-point lead with 27 seconds remaining, the T-Birds turned the ball over on the inbound, then subsequently stole the ball back and missed a possible game-ending dunk on the other end. 

The Westerners took the rebound the other way and missed a potential game-tying three in the final seconds, leading to a 74-71 T-Bird win. 

Guard Micah Jones finished with a game-high 20 points and four assists on 6-of-11 (54.5%) shooting from three. Guard Logan McLaughlin added 13 points, three rebounds, and two assists.

Forward Antwaun Massey grabbed a career-high nine rebounds and guard Josh Nwankwo chipped in 13 points in the win. 

The Thunderbirds shot 29-of-62 (46.8%) from the field and were 11-for-25 (44%) from beyond the arc.

The Thunderbirds are now 9-8 on the season and 2-1 in conference. NMJC will play South Plains College Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m. MDT in Hobbs, NM.