Spearman's 5 Triples Leads NMJC (MBB) to Win

The NMJC men's basketball team moved to .500 in conference with a 79-65 road victory over Clarendon College on Monday night. 

NMJC led Clarendon 19-9 midway through the first half. The Bulldogs closed the gap to one point with less than 30 seconds to go in the half. Freshman guard Michael Mackey snatched the ball away from the Bulldogs in the closing seconds and made a layup just before the buzzer sounded, giving the Thunderbirds a 29-26 lead at the break. 

The contest never reached one possession the rest of the game. NMJC started the second half strong, outscoring Clarendon 14-6 the first four minutes of the second half making the score 43-33 T-Birds.

The Thunderbirds finished the night with six dunks, four of which came in the final six minutes of the game as the T-Birds pulled away. NMJC led by as many as 19 in the second half going on to defeat the Bulldogs by 14 points, 79-65.

Sharp shooter Jayden Spearman went 5-for-11 from 3-point territory to end the game with a team-high 15 points. Armon Jarrard finished with 10 points and four rebounds. Sophomore guard Jannoy Thomas recorded 10 points as well. 

Melian Martinez and Rodrigo Farias scored eight points each. Deuce Benjamin grabbed five boards. 

The T-Birds shot 28-for-59 (47.5%) from the field, 11-of-32 (34.4%) from the 3-point line, and 12-of-15 (80.0%) from the charity stripe. NMJC forced 20 turnovers and held the Bulldogs to 44.9% from the field.

The Thunderbirds are fifth place in the WJCAC standings at 4-4 behind first place Midland College and South Plains who sit at 7-1.

The T-Birds improve to 18-4 (4-4) and will play No. 11 South Plains 17-5 (7-1) in Hobbs, NM Thursday, Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m. MST.