The McLennan Highlanders claimed the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference Championship with a 96-67 road win over the Southwest Christian Rams.
It was a back-and-forth battle between the Highlanders and Rams. McLennan was in control early on, opening the game with a Frederick Rogers III dunk that started a 6-0 run. Southwestern Christian got on the board with a bucket in the lane from Carson Brown and rallied to tie the game at eight with 16:13 to go in the first half. The Highlanders responded with a 7-0 run including five points from Rontavious Blackshear to go up 15-8 just two minutes later. The teams continued to battle with the Rams taking their first lead at 30-28 with 6:09 to play in the first half. The Highlanders used back-to-back 3-pointers from Ari Gooch to go back up by four, 34-30. McLennan held Southwestern Christian at bay down the stretch and led 44-40 at the break.
McLennan worked to give itself a slight cushion early in the second half. Leading 50-46, the Highlanders put together a 5-0 run to extend the lead to nine, 55-46 with 15:20 to play. The Rams trimmed the lead back to six, 57-51, but two buckets from Rogers III made it a double-digit lead, 61-51. The Highlanders rolled from point on, putting the game well out of reach for the Rams.
Evan Chatman led the Highlanders with 25 points. Joseph Mayberry and Frederick Rogers III added 18 and 17, respectively, and Ari Gooch scored 14.
McLennan: Rontavious Blackshear 1 2-2 4; Joseph Mayberry 7 4-6 18; Kardae Turner 1 2-2 4; Amare Banks 2 1-2 7; Ari Gooch 5 0-1 14; Keegan Rowell 0 0-0 0; Evan Chatman 9 78 25; John McQueen 0 0-0 0; Frederick Rogers, III 7 3-4 17; Joe Burgess 1 0-0 2; John Ateny 1 0-0 2; Maximilian Blank 0 3-4 3; Totals: 34 22-29 96.
Southwestern Christian: Landon Anderson 6 0-0 17; Dylon Richardson 4 2-2 11; Kainan Thomas 3 0-0 7; Carson Brown 4 1-4 12; Josean Dembo 1 0-0 2; Dominic Samuel 2 2-4 6; Donny Thomas 2 0-0 6; Aaron Harden 1 2-2 4; Chaun Farr 1 0-0 2; Totals: 24 7-12 67.
Halftime score: McLennan 44, Southwestern Christian 40; 3-pointers: McLennan 6 (Gooch 4, Banks 2), Southwestern Christian 12 (Anderson 5, Brown 3, Samuel 2, Richardson 1, Thomas 1); Total fouls: McLennan 12; Southwestern Christian 18; Record: McLennan 25-5 (12-2).
