The No. 25 McLennan Highlanders' season came to an end this evening with a 77-40 loss to the Midland Chaparrals in the quarterfinal round of the Region V Tournament in Lubbock.
McLennan was slow to find its offensive rhythm. Midland opened on a 4-0 run before Omarion Smith banked a shot off the glass for the Highlanders with 18:20 to go in the first half. The Chaparrals responded with an 8-0 run to take their firs double-digit lead at 12-2 at the first media timeout. CJ Hall stepped up for McLennan with a 5-0 run on his own to cut the lead in half, 12-7 with 13:18 to go in the half. Midland pulled away from that point and led by 18 at intermission, 47-29.
Midland put the game away early in the second half. The Chaparrals opened on a 7-0 run and held the Highlanders to one field goal in the first five minutes of play. Midland continued to pull away down the stretch and McLennan was unable to recover.
Nick Shogbonyo led the Highlanders with 12 points and CJ Hall added 11. Xavier White led Midland with 18 points all coming from six 3-pointers.
The Highlanders end the season with a 24-7 overall record.
McLennan: Nick Shogbonyo 4 3-4 12; CJ Hall 3 4-5 11; Jaylen Thompson 1 0-0 2; A.J. Barnes 0 2-4 2; Jared Clawson 1 0-0 2; Jahmar Brown 0 0-0 0; Omarion Smith 12-2 4; Mason Lockhart 2 1-3 5; Kaleb Pouncy 0 0-0 0; Khalif Allim 1 0-0 2; Totals: 13 12-18 40.
Midland: Roddrick Henry 0 0-0 0; Christian Villegas 0 0-0 0; Jaden Henderson 0 0-0 0; Keonte Jones 6 1-2 14; Doug Young 7 0-0 15; Eric Grier 1 0-0 2; Jamil Bowles 0 0-0 0; Trent Johnson 6 0-0 15; Brison Waller 4 3-4 11; Xavier White 6 0-0 18; Brett Leach 1 0-0 2; Totals: 31 4-6 77.
3-pointers: McLenna 2 (Shogbonyo 1, Hall 1), Midland 11 (White 6, Johnson 3, Jones 1, Young 1); Total fouls: McLennan 6, Midland 16; Halftime score: Midland 47, McLennan 29; Record: McLennan 24-7(11-3).
