On Thursday night New Mexico Military Institute needed a buzzer beater three by Carlos Mata to secure the 74-71 win at the Cahoon Armory Gym. With the win the Broncos improve to 11-13 overall with a 3-7 mark in conference play. With the loss, Clarendon dipped to 9-16 overall with a 2-9 record in conference play.
H1
Clarendon took an early 5-2 with 17:21 on the clock but the Broncos responded immediately. NMMI conducted a quick 6-0 run as they took an 8-5 lead with the help of a two by Joel Pinto. A couple of possessions later, Pinto drilled a three-pointer to give the Broncos a 17-8 advantage with 14:14 in the half. For the next four minutes both teams traded baskets as the Institute maintained at least a seven-point lead until David Popa gave the Broncos their largest lead of the game, 28-17, with a turnaround jumper.
Rushawn Green put the Broncos ahead by 15 with his lone basket of the night as the home team enjoyed a 41-26 lead with just over four minutes remaining in the half. However, Clarendon closed out the half on a 12-5 run as they trailed 46-39 after the first 20 minutes of action.
H2
With a seven-point lead the Broncos held the lead for over 19 minutes in the second half. Mitchell Schooley put the Broncos ahead 52-41 with his lone field goal and 15:50 remaining in the contest. However, Clarendon clawed their way back with every possession. In the next 15 minutes, the visitors created a 30-19 run in an effort to knot the game at 71-71 with 13 seconds left.
With a tie ballgame, Carlos Mata found himself alone in the corner as he drilled the game-winning three pointer to give NMMI the 74-71 advantage with 2.5 seconds remaining. Clarendon had one last opportunity with a half court heave but it was not successful as the Broncos secured the nail biting win.
Head Coach Sean Schooley on the win, "We didn't shoot the ball well from deep, but we got the last one to go and that's all that mattered. Credit to our guys for bouncing back from a tough loss at their place. Our effort was there for every play and that makes a huge difference throughout the stretch," Schooley said. "When the corps is here it changes the environment and we saw that here tonight… they shot 50% from the free throw and our crowd had a lot to do with that, so thank the corps for coming out and providing energy for us all night," Schooley said.
UP NEXT
The Broncos return to action on Monday, February 16 when they take on South Plans College on the road at 6:30 p.m.