Peter Dindinger — NMMI Sports Press
Sitting in second place in the latest Western Junior College Athletic Conference standings, the New Mexico Military Institute Bronco basketball team was looking to gain some ground by pulling away from the pack.
On Monday night at the Godfrey Athletic Center, the Howard College Hawks edged out the Broncos 53-52 to force a two-way tie for fourth place.
It took three minutes for the first bucket of the contest which came from NMMI's Reginald Ward on a two-pointer off an assist by Amiri Crowder.
After three early ties in the score, the Hawks gained a three-point lead after Blaize Segna knocked down a trey with 11:56 remaining in the opening half.
The Broncos then went on a 13-0 run to take a 10-point lead. Isaiah Williams had four points during the run while Chris Bready made a three-pointer to score five points.
Howard kept chipping away until the double-digit deficit was erased when Nestor Dyachok landed a clutch three-pointer that sparked an 11-0 run which tied the game at 21-all with 4:36 on the clock.
NMMI got the lead back after Williams made one of two free throws.
Aided by an assist by Luis Riascos Varon, Murphy made a shot in the paint to put the Broncos ahead by three with four minutes left until halftime.
The game was tied twice more in the final minute of the first half. D'Mari Wiltz went to the line to make one of two free throws which gave the Hawks a one-point lead at the break.
After six ties in the opening half, Howard extended its lead to three after a shot by Wiltz.
A three-pointer by Murphy gave the Broncos a two-point lead that was short-lived after Wiltz made a shot in the paint after a costly turnover by NMMI.
With the score tied at 33-all, Jordan Nelson gave NMMI a two-point lead after making a two-pointer off an assist by Williams.
The score was tied twice more until the Broncos got a three-point play by Ward after he was fouled on a made shot.
Howard came back on top, taking a three-point lead with 9:27 left in the game.
A shot by Nelson later put NMMI up by one point.
Bonny Udoh tied up the game after making one free throw with 4:20 on the clock.
The lead continued to see-saw as Bready landed a shot to put the Broncos back on top by two points. Wiltz was then fouled as he made one of two free throws to cut the deficit to one with 1:12 left.
NMMI missed two key free throws in the final 50 seconds. Wiltz gave the Hawks a one-point lead after making a two-pointer.
Nelson then flipped the script by giving the Broncos a one-point lead with a shot off an assist by Jonathan Salazar.
With nine seconds to go, Wiltz nailed the go-ahead shot from near the top of the key.
Time wasn't on NMMI's side as Murphy tried to throw up a last-second shot that missed the mark.
Ward led the Broncos with 11 points while Williams and Nelson each chipped in with 10 points. Bready and Murphy added with nine points apiece.
NMMI shot 7 of 14 from the free throw line. The Broncos won the rebounding battle, 40-24.
Wiltz led all scorers with 18 points while Udoh grabbed 11 rebounds.
The Hawks went 9 of 16 from the charity stripe.
>> UP NEXT: NMMI travels to Odessa, Texas for a 6:30 p.m. CST tip-off Thursday, Feb. 10.
Howard College 53, NMMI 52
HOWARD COLLEGE (15-9, 7-5)
Rahkiem Petterson 3 0-1 6, Blaize Sagna 3 0-1 7, D'Mari Wiltz 7 4-6 18, TK Bryant 1 2-2 4, Morrison Hsu 1 0-0 2, Nestor Dyachok 3 0-0 7, Bonny Udoh 3 3-6 9. Totals 21 9-16 53.
NMMI (15-10, 7-5)
Chris Bready 4 0-2 9, Isaiah Williams 3 3-4 10, Latik Murphy 4 0-1 9, Jordan Nelson 5 0-0 10, Amiri Crowder 0 1-2 1, Reginald Ward 4 3-4 11, Jonathan Salazar 1 0-1 2. Totals 21 7-14 52.
HOWA…….27….26 --- 53
NMMI…….26….26 --- 52
3-point goals – Howard 2 (Sagna, Dyachok); NMMI 3 (Bready, Williams, Murphy). Rebounds – Howard 31 (Udoh 11, Jacoby Bishop 6); NMMI 40 (Salazar 7, Crowder 6). Assists – Howard 8 (Wiltz 7); NMMI 12 (Williams 3). Total fouls – Howard 17, NMMI 20. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
>> WJCAC scores from Monday, Feb. 7:
- New Mexico Junior College 64, Western Texas College 61
- South Plains 70, Frank Phillips 59
- Clarendon 69, Midland College 65
>> WJCAC standings:
1. Odessa 20-5 (11-0); 2. South Plains 13-10 (7-4); 3. NMJC 15-10 (6-4); 4. (tie) Howard 15-9 (7-5); and NMMI 15-10 (7-5); 6. Frank Phillips 13-12 (4-7); 7. Midland 11-14 (4-8); 8. Western Texas 13-13 (3-8); 9. Clarendon 7-18 (2-10).