The University of the Southwest Men's Basketball team looked to continue their strong play as of late as they hosted Texas College on Thursday and Jarvis Christian University on Saturday. The Mustangs stayed on their winning path as they took down Texas College 85-71 and Jarvis Christian 116-111 in double overtime.
Texas College
Southwest (7-3, 3-2 RRAC) began their first game of the week against a Texas College team cruising with a three-game winning streak in conference.
Even with it being a tough matchup, the Mustangs started off tough in the first half of the game. Southwest stayed on top of the Texas College squad sitting in the same half of the standings as the Mustangs. USW would go into the half with a 48-40 lead.
Looking to improve their spot in the standings, the Mustangs played the second half just as strong as the first. Southwest would create a bit more separation and bury Texas College as they took the game 85-73.
Senior
Malik Malone led the way with 25 points, six rebounds, and three steals. Senior
Tre Thomas added 21 points, and Junior
Jahvonta Jones scored 19 points of his own in the winning effort.
Jarvis Christian
A struggling Jarvis Christian (3-7, 1-5 RRAC) came into Hobbs but did not roll over against a hot Southwest (8-3, 4-2 RRAC) team.
The Mustangs started off ahead as they have been, with a strong showing on both sides of the ball. Southwest would go into the half with a 39-30 lead over Jarvis.
Southwest would lead by as much as 20 points in the 2
nd half, but a resilient Jarvis Christian team would pull the game back. The Bulldogs would end up tying the game and sending it into overtime.
The first overtime stayed tight between the two sides, meaning there would need to be more basketball played on this day. This would be the second week in a row that the Mustangs would need two extra periods to finish a game as we head into double overtime locked at 104. The Mustangs would not give this one up as they put together a 12-7 period to take down Jarvis 116-111 and put them in third place in the RRAC standings.
Sophomore
Tyler Watkins put together an impressive showing with 25 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Junior
Jahvonta Jones had 13 points and six rebounds. Senior
Malik Malone posted a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Junior
Johnny Tendale and Sophomore
Sherrod Whitley both played key roles off the bench, with 16 points each.
The Mustangs have a quick turnaround as they host ranked opponent Montana Tech at home on December 19
th. Continue to follow USW Athletics and USW Men's Basketball on all social media for scores and updates throughout the season.