#15 Odessa Recovers Just In Time To Extend Win Streak
(January 24, 2022) Odessa, TX – Entering the game having won 8 straight and in first place in the WJCAC, the Wranglers found themselves trailing Howard College 23-20 after 20 minutes of action. Neither team shot well, but the Hawks shot just a little better to earn the three point margin.
In that first period, Odessa went 0-6 from distance, shot 26% from the field compared to Howard’s 34%. The Hawks had 3 more FGs, all 3’s, but oddly, while OC was 6-9 from the charity stripe, HC never got to the line.
Odessa used reserve Anthony Marshall’s 12 first half points to keep the Wranglers in the game.
The Wranglers never led until 7 minutes deep into the second half, and the score flipped several time until Gardner Turner’s lay-in with just under 8 minutes left in the game put Odessa on top for good, gaining the blue collar like win, 61-57.
In a game which saw the largest lead by each team at seven, their were five ties and 7 lead switches. The game tilted in favor of the Wranglers largely due to their success at the FT line, where they were 15 of 23. On the other bench, Howard made five of their seven tries. The Hawks first charity toss occurred almost three minutes into the second period.
Marshall ended up as Odessa’s leading scorer adding 7 to his first half 12 for game high 19. Daniel Rivera added 10 for the win, adding team high 8 boards. The Wranglers leading point producer, Daniss Jenkins was held to four points, 11 below his average.
Howard’s top three scorers accounted for 41 of the team’s 57. Leading the way was Nestor Dyachok who finished with 16 points and 5 boards before fouling out. D’Mari Wiltz dropped 14 points plus five assists and 5 rebounds, with Blaize Sagna complementing 11 points. Rahkiem Petterson’s ten rebounds were game high.
Odessa climbs to 17-5 overall, winning for the ninth consecutive time. The Wranglers last loss was back before the calendar flipped to December 2021. The win also keeps them a perfect 8-0 in conference play, two games up on South Plains at 6-2.
OC’s next contest is Thursday when they cross the TX/NM border for a tilt against New Mexico JC. The team Bucket’s bunch own a 69-66 home decision over which started this current streak.
Howard slides to 12-8 and 4-4. They host Midland on Thursday.
