Just when the South Plains College men were playing their best basketball of the season, bad news blindsided the Texans.
So far, they're making the best of it.
Playing without two-time all-region shooting guard Jordan Brangers, South Plains got a fourth consecutive 20-point performance in the postseason from center Isaiah Maurice and beat Highland Community College 91-71 Monday night in the first round of the NJCAA Tournament at Hutchinson, Kansas.
Brangers, who tied his school record with 10 3-point goals in the Region V tournament semifinals, developed what SPC coach Steve Green called "a significant infection" in the area near one of his kneecaps. Brangers had infected tissue, about the size of a penny, removed in an outpatient procedure last week and is not cleared to travel.
"He's having to go in twice a day for IVs," Green said. "He's going to see a doctor (Tuesday). Even if they clear him to come up here, I don't know what his chances of playing are."
South Plains (24-8), the tournament's No. 13 seed, will play No. 4 seed Salt Lake Community College (30-3) at noon Wednesday.
The Texans won their regional tournament with a wide range of contributors and kept it up in their national tournament opener, shooting 52 percent and out-rebounding their opponents 43-28. The 6-foot-10 Maurice scored 22 points, shooting guard Ben Perez had 19 points and nine rebounds, forward Deshawn Corprew was good for 15 points and point guard Keith McGee chipped in 12 points and nine assists with one turnover.
McGee was in double digits for the fourth postseason game in a row, and Maurice stayed hot after averaging 23.3 points in the three regional games. Perez, a 6-3 shooting guard, filled the long-range shooting box that Brangers normally checks.
"Isaiah is continuing with what he did in the regional tournament," Green said. "Ben Perez kind of snapped out of his funk and hit some shots tonight. Keith McGee, I thought, gave us some steady play at the point.
"Corprew is getting better. I don't think he played to what he is capable of playing, but he hit a couple of shots and did all right."
Brangers, a first-team all-American last season, is averaging 16.0 points this season. His 10 3s -- in only 15 attempts, many of them way beyond the arc -- wowed the crowd in the regional semifinal against McLennan. Green said Brangers' infection reared its head shortly after that.
"It was going on during the (regional) tournament," Green said. "I don't think any of us knew it was as bad as it was. We thought he had a slight infection, because he'd had one once before, and then on Sunday (March 11), it just, boom. We didn't find out for sure what it was until Monday night."
Green said Brangers received treatment and didn't practice all last week.
In a Twitter post Sunday, Brangers called his situation "a very sad moment for me." On Monday, he tweeted, "Good luck to my brothas @spctexans. Take care of the job! Wish I could be there."
"The kind of year we've been through," Green said, "we've had dysfunction all year long, so it's kind of pick up the pieces and go."
NJCAA TOURNAMENT
at Hutchinson Sports Arena
Hutchinson, Kansas
First Round
SOUTH PLAINS COLLEGE 91
HIGHLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE 71
HIGHLAND -- McCloud 5-12 3-3 16, Johnson 6-9 2-4 16, Barisic 5-17 1-2 12, Smith 2-11 2-2 8, Green 2-2 2-2 7, Ford 2-3 2-2 6, Carter 1-3 0-0 2, Blocker 1-1 0-0 2, Sustic 1-2 0-0 2, White 0-0 0-0 0, Simovic 0-1 0-0 0, Reid 0-0 0-0 0, Frank 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-61 12-15 71.
SOUTH PLAINS -- Corprew 6-15 1-3 15, Orlina 3-8 5-5 11, Maurice 10-15 2-3 22, Perez 6-11 2-4 19, McGee 4-7 2-4 12, Washington 3-4 0-0 7, Doby 2-5 1-1 5, Coleman 0-0 0-0 0, Thompson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-66 13-20 91.
Halftime score: South Plains 43, Highland 34. 3-point goals: Highland 9-31 (McCloud 3-9, Johnson 2-5, Smith 2-8, Green 1-1, Barisic 1-5, Ford 0-1, Carter 0-1, Simovic 0-1), South Plains 10-23 (Perez 5-10, McGee 2-4, Corprew 2-5, Washington 1-2, Orlina 0-1, Thompson 0-1). Total fouls: Highland 17, South Plains 14. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Highland 28 (Ford 7), South Plains 43 (Perez 9). Assists: Highland 18 (Smith 6), South Plains 18 (McGee 9). Steals: Highland 8, South Plains 8. Turnovers: Highland 11, South Plains 13. Blocked shots: Highland 2, South Plains 2. Records: Highland 26-7, South Plains 24-8.