COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Odessa College hangs on against Clarendon College

Lee Scheide, Odessa American, Texas
·2 min read

Feb. 26—The ups and downs the Odessa College men's basketball team goes through each game rival the top amusement park thrill rides.

One second the Wranglers are cruising, all their skills on display. The next moment they are scrambling to keep their opponents at bay, with turnovers and fouls turning a walk in the park into a tightrope act.

It happened again Thursday night when Odessa College led by double digits on numerous occasions, only to watch Clarendon College claw right back into the contest each time.

And it wasn't until the Wranglers finally were able to make some free throws in the waning moments of the game that everyone on the Odessa College bench was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Jordan Booker scored 16 points, seven of them in the final five minutes of the game, to lead the Wranglers to a 105-94 victory over the Bulldogs in Western Junior College Athletic Conference play at the OC Sports Center.

Aquarn Butler added 15 points and four assists to the victory, with Elijah Tate finishing with 12 and Shakeem Alcindor and Isaiah Turner each chipping in 10 points. Turner finished a team-high eight rebounds, along with four assists.

Tate connected on big 3-pointers from the right corner on an inbounds play to push Odessa College's lead to eight (95-87) with less than four minutes to play.

"You don't want to be negative after a win, because they did work hard," Odessa College coach Kris Baumann said. "But there were times when we're traveling or not getting back on defense and putting them on the free throw line and that kept them in it."

Odessa College, ranked fourth in the nation, improved to 11-0 overall, 4-0 in conference.

Jakobe Dill led Clarendon (5-5, 0-3) with a game-high 26 points, including eight 3-pointers despite the constant requests by Baumann that his players make a point of putting a hand in his face on defense.

BJ Simmons added 20 points in the loss, with Zarique Nutter and Ra'Sean Frederick each finishing with 14 points.

The Bulldogs connected on 31 of 39 free throws to stay in the game, going 27 of 29 in the second half to stay in the game.

>> Follow Lee Scheide on Twitter at OALeeScheide