Thunderbirds Lose Heartbreaker to Texans

NMJC men's basketball fell in heartbreaking fashion to South Plains College on Thursday 75-73.

NMJC battled throughout the game rallying back from a 13-point deficit in the second half to take a narrow lead in the final minute. A Josh Nwankwo go-ahead layup with 19 seconds remaining gave the T-Birds a 73-72 lead.   

The Texans were able to drive the length of the court and find Ismail Habib behind the arc. The shot went wayward and was corralled out of bounds by T-Bird guard Josh Nwankwo, giving South Plains another chance to win with 3.5 seconds left.

Texans Guard Jaden Harris received the inbound on the baseline and nailed a 15-foot jumper with one second remaining to upend the T-Birds upset bid.

Thunderbird guard Logan McLaughlin was 8-of-12 from the field scoring a team-high 18 points while adding seven rebounds.

Antwaun Massey set a career-high in both points (12) and rebounds (13). Thursday's loss was the freshman forward's first career double-double.

Center Jeremiah Cherry put together another solid offensive performance with 12 points and eight rebounds.

Josh Nwankwo finished with a steady 13 points and five rebounds. The sophomore guard has scored in double figures in his last three games.

The T-Birds shot 26-of-63 (41.3%) from the field, were 7-for-21 (33.3%) from the three-point line, and 14-for-24 (58.3%) from the free throw line. 

The Thunderbirds fall to 9-9 on the year and 2-2 in conference. NMJC will play New Mexico Military Institute Monday, Jan. 23 at 6:30 p.m. MDT in Roswell, NM.