The McLennan Highlanders advanced to Friday's semifinal with a victory 64-56 over the New Mexico to close out the opening day of the NJCAA Region V Tournament at The Highlands in Waco.
Armon Jarrard drained a 3-pointer from the corner to being the scoring for New Mexico. The Thunderbirds fouled McLennan's Ari Gooch at the 3-point line on the next possession, and Gooch sank all three free throws to tie the game. An Evan Chatman 3-pointer gave the Highlanders the lead. McLennan slowly began to pull away behind strong shooting from Chatman behind the arc. A bucket by Rontavious Blackshear with 11 minutes to go in the first half made it the first double-digit lead of the contest at 22-10. New Mexico added a free throw before a 7-0 run by the Highlanders extended the lead to 18, 29-11 with six minutes to go before the half. The Thunderbirds slowly chipped away and cut the lead to five at intermission, 34-29.
New Mexico took the momentum early in the second half. The Highlanders led 38-32 with 17:34 in the game. The Thunderbirds began to rally, taking the lead with a Deuce Benjamin free throw with 14:12 to play, 39-38. New Mexico pushed the lead to five, 50-45 with 6:33 remaining in the game. A pair of free throws each from Chatman and Banks pulled the Highlanders within one, 50-49 with 5:53 to go. Chatman then sank two more to put McLennan up 51-50 20 seconds later. The Highlanders continued to roll, holding the Thunderbirds to just two 3-pointer in more than six minutes of play to secure the victory.
Evan Chatman led the Highlanders with 23 points, and Amare Banks added 10.
New Mexico: Garrison Phelps 1 0-0 2; Isaiah Alexander 2 1-2 6; Deuce Benjamin 3 3-3 11; Rodrigo Farias 0 0 0-0; Jannoy Thomas 1 1-2 3; Amhad Jarrard 4 1-1 9; Michael Mackey 0 0-0 0; Jayden Spearman 2 2-2 8; Armon Jarrard 3 3-312; Victor Ezeh 0 0-0 0; Melian Martinez 2 1-2 5; Francois Nkoy-Eale 0 0-0 0; Totals: 18 12-15 56.
McLennan: Rontavious Blackshear 4 1-1 9; Joseph Mayberry 1 1-2 3; Kardae Turner 1 1-2 3; Amare Banks 3 2-2 10; Ari Gooch 1 3-4 6; Keegan Rowell 0 0-0 0; Evan Chatman 6 8-8 23; Frederick Rogers, III 2 0-0 4; Maximilian Blank 3 0-0 6; Totals: 21 16-19 64.
Halftime score: McLennan 34, New Mexico 30; 3-pointers: New Mexico 8 (Ar. Jarrard 3, Benjamin 2, Mackey 2, Alexander 1), McLennan 6 (Chatman 3, Banks 2, Gooch 1); Total fouls: New Mexico 19, McLennan 14; Fouled out: Alexander (New Mexico); Record: McLennan 26-5 (12-2).
