College basketball: Wranglers clinch share of league title

February 25, 2008 11:48 PM

| Print Story | E-Mail Story

BY SAM WALLER

The Odessa College Wranglers made things a little tougher on themselves than they should have Monday night.

The end result was all that mattered, though.

Carlos Rodriguez and Delrico Lane each had a double-double to help No. 5 Odessa College beat the Frank Phillips Plainsmen 87-81 at the OC Sports Center.

OC (26-3 overall, 13-2 WJCAC) won for the 15th time in 16 games and clinched a share of the conference title and the No. 1 seed for the NJCAA Region 5 Tournament. The victory also wrapped up a 15-0 home record for the Wranglers, just the third unbeaten home slate in program history.

OC had 32 turnovers, including 19 in the second half, which helpd Frank Phillips close an 18-point deficit to four entering the final minute. The Wranglers hit seven of eight free throws in the final 40 seconds to secure the outcome.

�You have to be proud of what they accomplished,� OC coach Dennis Helms said. �The good thing was we are going to be the No. 1 seed now and there’s at least a share of the conference. We’ve got to get out of this funk and be able to go.�

Rodriguez had 23 points and 17 rebounds, Lane had 10 points and 10 assists, Devon McLendon scored 18 points, Tommie Sykes had 12 points and Odessa High graduate Jamel Guyton had 10 points.

Robert Williams had 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead Frank Phillips (15-14, 4-11), which lost for the fifth consecutive time and for the eighth time in its last nine games.

OC still led 74-60 with five minutes to go, but Frank Phillips closed within six with 3:42 to go on a 3-pointer by LeNeal Harris, who had 15 points. The Plainsmen were 0-for-9 from 3-point range in the first half

After OC pushed the lead back to 10 with less than two minutes to go, Frank Phillips scored six points in 19 seconds — getting two baskets off turnovers — to make it 80-76 on a layup by Johnny Johnson with 1:10 to go.

�We just went through a lethargic stage, and I didn’t like that,� Helms said. �You can’t have 32 turnovers. We were at a mental low when (the Plainsmen) were pressing. We were throwing the ball away. It was a classic thing - they hang around and hang around and you give them a chance to seize the game. We almost put ourselves in a position for that to happen.�

Rodriguez said OC’s rebounding - the Wranglers finished with a 57-33 edge on the boards

- was key to holding off the Plainsmen.

�We got a lot of rebounds and made some good plays at the end of the game,� he said. �This was a huge win.�

Rodriguez had 12 points in the first half, 10 of which came in a span of one minute, 34 seconds to spark a 20-4 run that saw OC take a 25-8 lead with 12:24 remaining.

�I think it was the right time and the right place,� he said of the outburst. �It was good that I got 10 points like that, good for my team and good for me. It set a tone for the game.�

Frank Phillips responded with a 10-3 run and got within 33-24 on a layup by Robert Williams with 4:27 to go, but Brian DeLeon converted a one-and-one with 12 seconds left to give OC a 41-28 halftime lead.

No. 5 Odessa College 87, Frank Phillips College 81

FRANK PHILLIPS COLLEGE (15-14 overall, 4-11 in WJCAC)

Reggie Burnett 5-12 1-2 13, Robert Williams 9-14 4-8 22, Johnny Johnson

4-8 0-0 9, DeJuan Plummer 4-11 0-1 9, LeNeal Harris 5-16 2-2 15, Chris

Smith 1-8 2-2 4, Tigg Bunton 4-5 1-4 9, Chris Palmer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals

32-74 10-19 81.

ODESSA COLLEGE (26-3, 13-2)

Jamel Guyton 4-12 0-0 10, Jesse Joseph 1-4 0-2 2, Delrico Lane 3-11 4-7

10, Tommie Sykes 3-4 6-8 12, Carlos Rodriguez 8-11 4-4 23, Devon McLendon

6-12 4-4 18, Damien Williams 3-8 4-6 10, Dexter McMarion 0-0 0-0 0, Brian

DeLeon 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 28-63 24-33 87.

Halftime — Odessa College 41, Frank Phillips College 28. 3-Point goals —