Hounds nip Commerce, earn No. 6 seed

Jordan Romero came up big for Eastern New Mexico University's men on Saturday.

The junior guard from Santa Fe had career highs of eight 3-point and 25 points as the Greyhounds held off Texas A&M-Commerce 88-85 in the Lone Star Conference and regular-season finale for both teams at Greyhound Arena.

In a hard-fought, faced-paced game, the Hounds (12-14, 9-9 LSC) overcame a seven-point deficit with under 12 minutes left, going on a 16-2 run and holding off the Lions (14-14, 7-11) down the stretch.

ENMU finished in a four-way tie for fourth in the final conference starndings, earning the No. 6 seed in the tournament and a 1:30 p.m. (MST) date against third-seeded Tarleton State (17-9, 10-8) on Thursday at Allen, Texas.

Junior guard Rafael Love posted his eighth double-double of the season with 26 points and 12 rebounds. His 3-point play with 9:15 left put th Hounds in front for good 71-70, but they had hold on late after going more than two minutes at the end without a field goal.

Romero went 8-for-13 from the 3-point line. Junior guard Rodney Blackmon had 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, while senior forward Greg McFarland went 6-for-8 from the floor and finished with 12 points and six boards.

Blackmon and Love combined for 13 points in the decisive run.

The Lions put five players in double figures, led by Devondrick Walker's 19 points, including 3-of-3 from the 3-point line. Forward Andrew Davis added a double-double of his own with 10 points and 11 boards.

Trailing 87-81 after a basket by McFarland with 2:18 left, the Lions got two free throws each from Walker and Preston Whitley on their next to trips to cut the lead to two in the final minute.

Love missed a jumper with the shot clock running down, but junior Dennis Hardwell blocked a layup attempt by Davis in the final seconds and knocked the ball off Davis and out of bounds.

Junior guard Kyle Lantz, playing for the first time since injuring a knee against Abilene Christian in early Februrary, was fouled on the inbounds and made the second of two free throws. Whitley's desperation 3-pointer as time expired.

The game was as close statistically as the score. Both teams shot just over 40 percent from the field and around 40 percent from the 3-point line.

The Hounds held a 43-40 rebounding advantage and went 21-of-26 from the line — led by Love with 10-of-11 — to 22-of-31 for the Lions.