Brangers and Webster talk big win over Howard, share thoughts on Tech
South Plains guard Jordan Brangers probably didn't get off to the start he was hoping for against Howard College on Thursday night.
As the leading scorer for the Texans, averaging essentially 20 points a night, Brangers' shot was slightly off, and he went into halftime with only 6 points on the board, going just 1 of 7 from beyond the arc. But that all changed when the team came back out onto the court to close out the contest.
The sharpshooter went wild, hitting 7 of 8 threes, many of them from at least four feet behind the arc on a way to a 24 point second half.
Brangers made one adjustment to flip the switch.
"The first half I was settling too much on my jump shot," he said. "Coach Green told me at halftime that I needed to start getting to the basket, and that opened my shot up. Starting the second half, I hit them with a three, then I got to the basket. I got that easy bucket there, and then everything else just came easy from there."
His efforts helped top ranked SPC move to 18-0 on the season in a 93-72 win over Howard on their quest for both a junior college national championship and an undefeated season.
Teammate, point guard, and fellow Texas Tech signee Josh Webster got a front row seat for Brangers' scorching second half behind the arc, but none of it surprises him. In fact, it helps him out.
"It makes my life a lot easier, cause that's where I get a lot of my assists from are Jordan. He's a hard worker, always in the gym, so that's why you always see a lot of his shots go down."
The point guard had quite a night himself, including a 9 point, 4 for 4 shooting, 5 assist, and 5 rebound first half. He came up just short of a triple double with 10 points, 8 assists, and 8 rebounds at the end of the night, but he doesn't mind missing out on the milestone because his team got another win.
"I played good, but it's not about me. It's about me and my team, so it was just us getting a W. That's all I'm worried about. I don't care if I have two points, thirty points, it doesn't matter. The only thing I want is that W."
And while both players are certainly focused on their season at hand above all, they're still paying close attention to what's going on with Texas Tech.
Brangers trusts Coach Beard to push the Red Raiders late in Big 12 play, too.
"I think Tech is playing pretty good. They had a couple of stumbles on the road, but they're undefeated at home. Coach Beard really knows what he's doing, so hopefully they'll be able to make that run."
The duo have already been out to Lubbock for a few games this season as well, including the overtime win over top 10 ranked West Virginia. Brangers couldn't have been more impressed with the atmosphere.
"I mean, the atmosphere was just crazy man. For the atmosphere to be like that and the students aren't there, that was just amazing. When they got that victory, it really just showed that hard work pays off. That really put them in some unbelievable position. It's a really good feeling knowing me and Josh are signed to go there and that they could upset West Virginia."
"It was crazy," said Webster. "It was really exciting and just showed us something that we can really look forward to next year."
Most of all, tasting success and seeing the success the Red Raiders are already having this season makes Brangers excited to be a part of the program in the summer. With the players returning from this year's team and the South Plains duo bringing their own flavor and style to the mix, he's eager to get started.
"It's really exciting. Me and Josh can bring a different dimension to the team, and not only with our skills, but just with the way we'll be working on and off the court. This year with Coach Beard, everybody is buying in, so next year everybody can buy in again."