NMJC (MBB) Advances to Region V Semifinal

A second-half surge helped the Thunderbirds defeat Collin College 73-67 in the first round of the Region V Championship on Thursday, March 12.

The NJCAA No. 15 ranked T-Birds will face No. 4 Howard in the Region V Semifinals Friday, March 13 at 7 p.m. CDT at Odessa College in Odessa, Texas. 

The T-Birds jumped out to an early 16-5 lead five minutes into the game. The fast start was slowed down quickly when the Cougars fired back with an 11-0 run to tie the score at 17 with 11:36 to go in the first half. Collin continued to wear down the T-Birds, outscoring NMJC 14-6 over the next six minutes 31-23. 

Sophomore guard Delang Muon righted the ship with back-to-back 3-pointers and a layup to score the Thunderbirds last eight points of the half. Collin hit a triple just shy of the buzzer to put the halftime score at 38-33 Cougars.

"Delang played an amazing game which is nothing new," NMJC men's basketball head coach Luke Mackay said. "He has been a force all year. The great thing was he did it with the help of his teammates. All eight of those points came within our offensive game plan and were assisted by other T-Birds delivering great passes." 

Collin made five 3-pointers (45.5%) and was 60.9% from the field in the first half.

The second half was another story with the Thunderbird defense stepping up and dominating. The T-Birds had seven steals in the second half and forced 10 turnovers. The Cougars shot 10% from 3-point territory and were 27.6% from the field.       

NMJC exploded out the gates in the second half going on a 13-2 run to take a commanding 46-40 lead with 15:36 to go in the game. Collin led for the first 2:18 of the half and never led again. NMJC pushed their lead up to 12 points in that second half as they controlled the game methodically.

Collin came within four points in the final minute, but the Thunderbirds' hefty lead, free throw shooting, and control of the ball held the Cougars at bay. NMJC moved to the Region V Semifinals for the second time in three years with a 73-67 Thursday night.   

The NJCAA No. 15 ranked T-Birds will face No. 4 Howard in the Region V Semifinals Friday, March 13 at 7 p.m. CDT at Odessa College in Odessa, Texas. The T-Birds entered the tournament the No. 3 seed and Howard entered as the No. 1 seed from the WJCAC. 

Delang Muon recorded his second double-double of the year with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Center Ladji Coulibaly was 5-for-8 from the field with 13 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore guard RJ Nance recorded 13 points and three assists. 

Kenny Fields chipped in seven points off the bench. Kemauri Millender and Grigorije Avramovic scored eight points each. Avramovic tied a career high in assists with eight. 

The T-Birds shot 25-for-67 (37.3%) from the field, 6-of-28 (21.4%) from the 3-point line, and 17-of-23 (73.9%) from the free throw line. NMJC held the Cougars to 42.3% from the field and forced 20 turnovers.

Midland, NMJC, South Plains, and Howard from the WJCAC swept the NTJCAC Thursday night.

"When our 4th place team has wins over the North Champion and the Region 14 Champions it can't help but slam the door shut on the conversation of the quality of the league," Coach Mackay said. "As a fan of basketball, it's a great time to be watching Region V." 

Moving over to the Howard matchup in the next round. The Thunderbirds have played Howard twice this season with NMJC falling on the road 73-55 in January and then beating the Hawks in Hobbs, NM 80-64 in February.

"We expect a physical battle," Coach Mackay said. "Their size and strength across their roster makes them look like a mid-major NCAA team. It should be a great contest. All four games yesterday were officiated at an extremely high level, and it was called and played like an NCAA conference tournament. I have no doubt it will be that level of quality again from players, coaches and officials." 

The game will be streamed live on TSBN Sports for free. If on a mobile phone please scroll down slightly to watch, do not click pop up links.

The No. 15 Thunderbirds improve to 26-5 (12-4) on the year and will compete against No. 4 Howard College 27-4 (13-3) in the Region V Semifinals Friday, March 13 at 7 p.m. CDT at Odessa College in Odessa, Texas.