HOBBS, NM---Seniors Jaylen Taulton, Joshua Harris and Akeem Black played their final home game at "The Dox" on Saturday and walked off the court with a victory over conference rival Wiley College. The 3 seniors were honored pregame in a ceremony honoring their hardwork and dedication as students and athletes to the University of the Southwest. The Mustangs took down Wiley 75-73 to improve their record to 14-10 overall and 9-5 in conference keeping themselves in 3rd place in the standings. 

"The guys battled and fought hard in a game that challenged us mentally and physically" said Head Coach Cory Hitchcock. "It was good to see us hang on to the win after taking the lead late in the game. It was also great to get the win on Senior Day. Joshua, Akeem and Jaylen have been great leaders for our team and they helped us changed the culture within our program. They are a big part of our success on and off the court. This game was special because we wanted to send the seniors off on a high note."

Joshua Harris scored a game-high 25 points on 10-20 shooting in 39 minutes of play. Harris also had 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 1 assist. Akeem Black scored 7 points on the afternoon in 23 minutes of play. Foul trouble limited his usage, but he played big minutes down the stretch. Jaylen Taulton logged 11 minutes and played tough defense , while shooting 0-2 from the field and earning 1 steal. 

The Mustangs shot 45.3% from the field and were 14-16 from the charity stripe. 

JAYLEN TAULTON
Jaylen Taulton is the son of Kelli & Elroy Taulton. He is a 6'1" guard from Mansfield, TX, majoring in Business. Jaylen has 1 sibling Jordan and attended Mansfield Legacy High School. Taulton saw all of his varsity action this season as he appeared in 10 games scoring 6 points total. 

"Jaylen is a great team guy. He hasn't played much this year but he kept working hard and stayed positive the entire time. This week he has played great and really stepped up. It has been neat to watch him grow as a player this year and contribute to our team. It has been a long journey for him but what impresses me most is he never gave up. He kept working and fighting for an opportunity." said Head Coach Cory Hitchcock. 

JOSHUA HARRIS
Joshua Harris is a 6'3" forward from Austin, Texas. Joshua is the son of Symanthia Harris & Deon Buckley. He is majoring in Accounting and wants to become a financial analyst. Joshua graduated from Austin High School in 2016 and attended Northlake College for 2 years before transferring to USW. In his 2 years at USW, Harris has appeared in 45 games thus far totaling 666 points. This year he is average 15.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.5 SPG and 1.2 BPG. 

"Joshua has been one of the most consisten players I have ever coached. He puts in work daily and it shows by the way he plays. He wants to win no matter what and when you have players who care more about winning than their own personal stats, it's easy to coach them" said Coach Hitchcock on Harris. 


AKEEM BLACK
Akeem Black is a 6'2" guard from Fort Worth, TX. Black attended Bell High School and Northlake College before transferring to USW with fellow senior Joshua Harris. Akeem is the son of Melindo Mcalister and has 1 sibling Alvin. Akeem is majoring in Kinesiology and wants to pursue a career as a therapist or coach. Over his 2-year career at USW, Black has appeared in 33 games and scored 426 points. This season he is averaging 13.2 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 2.7 APG and 1.7 SPG. 

"Akeem has grown so much as a player. We ask him to score buckets for us and guard the other team's best player which can exert a lot of energy. He takes pride in it and gives it all he has. He is one of the best on-ball defenders I have coached. He sets the tone for our team defensively. When he is locked in, the guys tend to raise their level of defense" said Coach Hitchcock on Akeem.