The No. 25 McLennan Highlanders closed out the regular season with a 92-71 conference victory over the Southwestern Christian Rams this afternoon at The Highlands.
McLennan's Omarion Smith opened the game on a 4-0 run and the Highlanders pushed the lead to seven at 10-3 with 16:17 to go in the first half. Southwestern Christian used a 5-0 run to cut the lead back to two. McLennan continued to lead by two, 26-24, midway through the half. The Highlanders led 35-29 with 6:07 to go and used a 10-0 run to push the lead to 16. McLennan led by 12, 51-39 with 1:21 to play before the half and ended on a 4-0 run to push it to 16 at the break, 55-39.
The Highlanders continued to roll in the second half, leading by as many as 27 down the stretch as they cruised to the big win.
CJ Hall led the Highlanders with 20 points and Jaylen Thompson added 15. Omarion Smith and Jared Clawson scored 13 and 12, respectively. Nick Shogbonyo and Mason Lockhart scored 10 points each.
Southwestern Christian: Jamari Lawrence 3 0-0 7; Wryan Williams 3 0-0 9; Donald Ballard 7 2-2 20; Arnold McGowan 1 0-0 3; McKinley Sanders 4 0-0 8; Brown 2 0-0 5;
Michael Coleman 4 4-4 12; Remon Tuck II 1 0-0 2; Jalen Beadles 0 0-0 0; Roland Frank 0 0-0 0; Cameron Estill 2 1-1 5; Totals: 29 6-7 71.
McLennan: Nick Shogbonyo 5 0-0 10; CJ Hall 7 3-4 20; Dayvaughn Froe 0 0-1 0; Jaylen Thompson 6 1-2 15; A.J. Barnes 3 0-0 6; Jared Clawson 5 0-0 12; Jahmar Brown 1 0-0 2; Omarion Smith 6 1-2 13; Mason Lockhart 5 0-1 10; Kaleb Pouncy 1 0-0 2; Khalif Allim 1 0-0 2; Totals: 40 5-10 92.
3-pointers: Southwestern Christian 10 (Ballard 4, Williamd 3, Lawrence 1, McGowan 1, Brown 1), McLennan 7 (Hall 3, Thompson 2, Clawson 2); Total fouls: Southwestern Christian 11, McLennan 6; Halftime score: McLennan 55, Southwestern Christian 39; Record: McLennan 24-6 (11-3).
Next up: McLennan begins play in the Region V Tournament March 8 at Frenship High School outside of Lubbock. The Highlassies will be the North No. 2 seed and will face the West No. 3 seed at 5 p.m.
