With Midland celebrating its 2006-2007 National Junior College Athletic Association National Championship with a ring and banner ceremony before the game, the Chaparrals immediately placed pressure on themselves to defend their crown and prove why they were the third-ranked team in the nation heading into the night.

Early on, it appeared Midland was ready to prove itself, opening up with a 23-9 lead with 7:30 minutes left in the first half. However, the Hawks proved to be a pesky squad, unwilling to go down quietly.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, their offensive runs kept coming up short as the closest they’d get to Midland was three points in a 66-60 loss.

Neither team showed a lot of proficiency on offense with the Hawks shooting a mere 31.3 percent from the field compared to 35.6 percent for Midland. However, the Hawks were even worse at the 3-point line, making only one of their 15 3-point attempts.

“It was really an ugly game offensively for both teams,” said Howard Head Coach Mark Adams. “They’ve got one of the best defenses in the league. We knew what we were going to face. They were just stronger down low and dominated the boards. We gave them far too many second chances, but that goes to show they’re maturity.”

“There’s something to build on here,” Adams continued. “There’s not many teams that are going to come in here and beat Midland on their home floor. It was encouraging to know that we could compete with them.”

Howard trailed 60-57 with 31.8 seconds remaining in regulation after Denzel Barnes connected on one of two at the free throw line. However, with shot blocking specialist Cheick Kone, who finished the game with four blocks, fouled out for Howard, Midland again attacked the interior of the Hawks’ defense. Marcus Washington penetrated and extended the Chaps lead to five, 62-57, with 27.7 seconds remaining.

That’s as close as Howard got as Midland made four free throws down the stretch to ice the game.

Howard’s Sean Watson led all scorers with 24 points, including 12 in the first half that allowed the Hawks to keep within striking distance of Midland, and six rebounds. Barnes was the only other Hawk in double digits with 13 points and came down with six rebounds.

DeMarcus Richard and Devon Baker chipped in seven points apiece. Richard also had six boards.

Eddie Thompson led the way for Midland with 15 points. Tyron Appleton and Darris Santee contributed 12 apiece. Midland outrebounded the Hawks 59-45.

Howard continues Western Junior College Athletic Conference play Monday with Odessa College paying a visit to the Dorothy Garrett Coliseum. Tip time will be approximately 20 minutes following the Howard women’s game set to start at 5:30 p.m.

Adams said he feels good about Howard’s chances through the rest of the conference season based on things he saw in the Midland contest, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

 “Our defense is much better, but we’ve still got a long way to go,” Adams said. “There’s a lot of season left. It’s going to be all about who keeps getting better. It’s still early and we’ve got to keep reminding ourselves of that.”

Contact Sports Editor Jonathan Hull by calling him at 263-7331, ext. 237, or by e-mailing him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it