Highlanders claim conference title

The McLennan Highlanders claimed the North Texas Junior College Athletic Championship in dramatic fashion Saturday afternoon as they defeated the Temple Leopards 101-93 on the road. McLennan trailed the majority of a game that saw a combined 60 personal fouls called between the two teams.

Fred Jackson's turnaround jumper in the lane 20 seconds into the contest gave McLennan the early 2-0 lead but Temple was on fire to start the game. The Leopards responded with a 10-0 run in the next two minutes to build an eight-point lead. Temple took the first double-digit lead at 14-4 with 16:24 to play in the first half. The Leopards extended the lead to 12, 31-19, midway through the half but the Highlanders continued to fight. McLennan trimmed the lead to two, 40-38, on a pair of Julius Foster free throws with 4:15 to play in the first. Temple pulled away again, extending the lead to 11 with 14 seconds to go. A Hayden Hunter runner at the buzzer narrowed the lead to nine at intermission, 53-44.

Temple led 59-46 with 17:15 on the clock. A 7-0 McLennan run, including four points from Hunter, trimmed the lead to six, 59-53. The Leopards extended the lead back to double digits, 63-53, less than a minute later and led 68-57 with 12:44 to go. Another Highlander run – this time of the 10-0 fashion capped off by a Zarious Wilson 3-pointer – pulled McLennan within one. Shannon Bogues drained a pair of free throws following a Temple technical foul to give the Highlanders their first lead since the first minute of the game, 69-68 with 9:42 to play. The two teams would spend the remainder of the game in the double bonus. Temple pulled away one last time taking an eight-point lead, 78-70 with just under eight minutes to go. McLennan stepped up to the challenge and tied the game at 80 on a fast-break slam dunk by Jackson off the assist from Hunter. The teams traded baskets for the next three minutes with Temple holding the 86-85 lead with 2:20 to play. A Bogues 3-pointer gave McLennan the lead for good with two minutes remaining. Bogues, Isaiah Gurley and Jashawn Talton combined to go a perfect 8-8 from the free-throw line in the final 30 seconds to secure the win. 

Derrick Farquharson led McLennan with 23 points and Wilson had 19. Bogues and Gurley scored 17 and 15, respectively, and Hunter added 10.

McLennan 101, Temple 93
McLennan: Zarious Wilson 7 0-0 19; Chamar Hawkins 1 0-0 2; Hayden Hunter 4 2-2 10; Derrick Farquharson 8 4-4 23; Shannon Bogues 5 6-8 17; Isaiah Gurley 4 6-7 17; Jashawn Talton 2 2-2 6; Daniel Pinho Severo 0 0-0 0; Fred Jackson 3 1-2 7; Julius Palmer 0 2-2 2; Totals: 34 23-29 101.

Temple: John Mouton 0 3-4 3; Cullin Johnson 0 0-0 0; Kaelin Jackson 8 2-2 21; Chris West 1 0-0 2; J.R. Adams 8 0-0 19; Torenzo Saunders 4 2-5 10; Malik Malone 5 3-3 14; Teesean Patterson 0 0-0 0; Jon-Reese Woodson 1 4-5 6; Max Portmann 7 4-8 93; Totals: 34 18-27 93.

3-pointers: McLennan 10 (Wilson 5, Farquharson 3, Bogues 1, Gurley 1), Temple 7 (Jackson 3, Adams 3, Malone 1); Total fouls: McLennan 28, Temple 32; Fouled out: Temple (Jones, Jackson); Halftime score: Temple 53, McLennan 44; Record: McLennan 28-1 (10-1).