T-Birds Sharp Shooting Upends Plainsmen

The Thunderbirds dominated Frank Phillips Thursday night defeating the Plainsmen 91-70.

The T-Birds only led by two points, 13-11, at the 10:35 point of the first half. The offense needed a spark and boy did they get one. The Thunderbirds rattled off a 17-5 run over the next five and a half minutes to boost their lead to 16 points, 32-16.

The T-Birds maintained the 16-point lead over the final 5:00 minutes of the half and headed into the break with a 43-27 advantage over Frank Phillips.

The Plainsmen found a rhythm to begin the second half as they cut the Thunderbird lead in half with a 13-5 run that set the score at 48-40. The T-Birds responded with a 14-2 run of their own that brought the lead back up to double digits, 62-42, with 10:35 left in the game.

The margin reached as high as 24 points in the second half. NMJC would go on to beat Frank Phillips by 21 points, 91-70.

Chaydon Stone shot 8-of-11 from the field to finish the night with a team-high 17 points. Sophomore guard Azavier Johnson scored a career-high 12 points in the win.

Leo Torbor added 11 points and eight rebounds. Center Jeremiah Cherry recorded 11 points. Trey Harris was the leading scorer off the bench for the T-Birds with nine points.

The Thunderbirds were 33-of-56 (58.9%) from the field, shot 7-for-15 (46.7%) from 3-point land, and finished a perfect 18-of-18 from the charity stripe. 

The T-Birds move to 16-4 (3-3) on the season and will play next against New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, NM Thursday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. MST.