No. 10 Thunderducks Coast by No. 13 Blazers

IRVING, Texas – Dallas College Richland men's basketball team grabbed control of the Dallas Athletic Conference race to enter the holiday break.

The 10^th-ranked Thunderducks beat host No. 13 Dallas College North Lake, 68-48, Wednesday to complete the first of three rounds of DAC play. Richland (11-6, 5-0 DAC) has a two-game lead atop the league standings entering the three-week Christmas hiatus.

It was Richland's first win over North Lake (5-12, 3-2) in the last eight meetings and its first in the Blazer Dome in the last six, including postseason play.

Mannie Odo scored a career-high 20 points, and Barack Holland and Trey Wright each had 12 for the Thunderducks, who won their fifth straight. Odo had 12 points in the first half as Richland built a 26-18 lead in low-scoring start for both teams.

Elijah Brown hit two 3-pointers late in the first half to give the Thunderducks an eight-point lead they maintained until the intermission.

A minute and 10 seconds into the second half, Cjay Ingram scored to extend the lead to 13. Cedric Dent's steal and lay-in made it 33-19 with 16:25 to play. Jackson Hodge scored less than a minute later as the Thunderducks bumped their lead to 15. Odo threw down an alley-oop lob from Ingram around the 12:30 mark to put Richland ahead, 43-24. It was Odo's fourth straight basket during the Thunderducks' second half surge.

Dent's steal and dunk made it 47-27. With 6:38 to go, North Lake's Alex Gilmore scored on a feed from David Clower as the Blazers cut it to 51-37 before Lance Rawls answered with a 3. Wright hit another triple to increase the lead to 21, and the rout was on.

A'Marie Haywood had a season-high 11 points for the Blazers, who dropped two of their past three. He was the only North Lake player in double figures. Anden Holmes, Autavius Hobbs, David Clower and Gilmore each finished with seven.

Richland is off until Jan. 11 when it hosts Loyalty College Prep to start a three-game homestand. The Thunderducks begin the second round of DAC Jan. 18 against Dallas College Brookhaven.