It’s not the type of competition that the Odessa College men’s basketball team was expecting during its run up to Western Junior College Athletic Conference play.
But it is competition and a chance for the Wranglers to put into motion what coach Kris Baumann has been working on in practice.
Jordan Booker and Tre Richardson each scored 13 points to lead Odessa College to a dominating 132-52 victory against Loyalty Prep Thursday at the OC Sports Center.
Elijah Tate and Shaman Alston each chipped in 12 points to the victory, with Demaius Splunge adding 11 and Travis Gray 10.
The Wranglers played 16 different players and everyone scored.
“With everything going on with the pandemic, it’s just good to be playing games,” Baumann said. “We had a team cancel on us for tomorrow (Friday) and another team said it would be able to play so we are going to get another game before conference starts on Monday.
“I thought we shared the ball well and we pressured well and we got everyone into the game.”
The Wranglers finished with 33 assists and 23 steals, outscoring Loyalty Prep 48-0 on turnovers. Odessa College also dominated on the glass with a 57-28 margin in rebounds, including 19 offensive rebounds.
Lavell Brodnex led Loyalty Prep with a game-high 22 points, including four 3-pointers, with Jeremiah Gilliam finish with 11.
Odessa College showcased it full-court pressure right off the bat when Aquarn Butler stole the ball and drove in for a layup on Loyalty Prep’s first possession of the game.
Brodnex and Gilliam combined on the next two possessions to put the visitors ahead, 4-2, before Gray connected on a 3-pointer from the left wing. Brodnex answered from the right corner for a 7-5 lead and the Wranglers said enough.
Booker drove into the paint and converted a close-range jump shot to tie the game and Odessa College used that to start a 60-20 run through the rest of the first half, going into the break with a 67-29 lead.
Follow Lee Scheide on Twitter at @OALeeScheide
