Wyms scores 29 in Hounds Victory

ODESSA, Texas — Junior guard Chris Wyms scored a season-best 29 points and hit four consecutive free throws in the final minute to lift Eastern New Mexico University’s men to a 102-99 victory over Texas-Permian Basin on Saturday.

Wyms went 5-for-5 from 3-point range and added 12-of-13 at the free throw line as the Hounds avenged an 81-65 loss at home to the Falcons (5-3) on Dec. 2.

Senior guard Michael Randle added 20 points, junior guard John Gilliam scored 16 and junior forward Lawence Domingo added 13 for ENMU, while junior guard Demetrius Balark chipped in 10 points off the bench.

Randle went 11-of-13 from the foul line as the Hounds finished 42-of-48, including 26-of-27 after the break.

Wyms (25) and Randle (16) combined for 41 points in the second half. Five players also scored in double figures for the Falcons, led by senior guard Phadarius Taylor with 20 points.

The Falcons finished the contest 37-for-51 from the foul line. ENMU trailed by 14 points before senior Seth Bailey’s 3-pointer just before the buzzer cut it to 49-38 at the half.

The Hounds chipped away when play resumed, pulling even at 63-63 on a free throw by Wyms with 13:31 to go. Randle then hit four free throws in a row on the next two trips to give the Hounds their first lead since early (67-65) with just under 13 minutes remaining.

ENMU built its biggest lead at 83-76 on a 3-pointer by Balark with 8:21 to go, but the Falcons went on a 10-0 run to regain the lead. Neither team led by more than three points the rest of the way, with the game being tied seven more times.

The lead changed hands seven times in the final four minutes, stsarting with two free throws from Bailey for a 90-89 ENMU lead with 3:57 left in the game. UTPB took its final lead with 1:22 to go when reserve Xavier Martin made a pair of free throws to make it 98-97.

Balark missed a 3-pointer on ENMU’s trip, but Domingo came up with a steal to set up two free throws by Wyms. The Hounds got a stop, and Wyms added two free throws at the 19-second mark.

Taylor pulled the Falcons to 100-99 on a pair of foul shots with 10 seconds remaining, but Randle added a pair of freebies three seconds later and Lamar Falley’s 3-point try for UTPB was off the mark as time expired.

The game seesawed early, but two layups by Stephan Thompson and one by Feeney put UTPB up 22-16 with 12 minutes left in the half. The Hounds pulled to 22-21 on a 3-pointer by Bailey, but never were able to catch the Falcons the rest of the half.

Leading 34-30 with five minutes left, UTPB opened its first double-figure lead at 44-34 on two free throws by Martin with 2:23 to go. The Hounds finished 10-of-21 from 3-point range while the Falcons were just 4-of-17. There were 63 fouls in the game — 31 on ENMU and 32 on UTP sB — and four players ENMU has scored 100 points twice this season and gone over 90 three other times, winning all five of those games.

ENMU’s next outing will be at 7:30 p.m. on Friday against South Dakota School of Mines & Technology at Rapid City, S.D.

Saturday

Men

ENMU 102, Texas-Permian Basin 99

Eastern New Mexico (6-4) — John Gilliam 5-10 6-7 16, Lawrence Domingo 5-10 2-2 13, Michael Randle 4-9 11-13 20, Chris Wyms 6-11 12-13 29, Joey Martinez 0-0 0-0 0, Darrelyn McCloud 0-1 0-0 0, Seth Bailey 2-3 3-4 9, Elliot Dadds 0-1 0-0 0, Demetrius Balark 2-7 5-6 10, Deyton De La Cerda 0-1 0-0 0, Jason Clardy 1-2 3-3 5. Totals 25-55 42-48 102.

Texas-Permian Basin (5-3) — Madison Turner 0-4 1-2 1, Phadarius Taylor 6-8 8-8 20, John Bailey 2-2 0-0 4, Thomas Feeney 4-8 4-5 14, Stephan Thompson 5-7 8-14 18, Xavier Martin 4-12 9-10 18, Malcolm Pope 1-1 0-0 2, Malcolm Hill-Bey 1-3 3-4 5, Lamar Falley 3-5 1-2 8, Andre Smith 1-1 3-6 5, Andre Rieder 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 29-55 37-51 99. Halftime — Texas-Permian Basin 49, Eastern New Mexico 38. 3-pointers — Eastern New Mexico 10-21 (Wyms 5-5, S. Bailey 2-2, Domingo 1-2, Randle 1-2, Balark 1-5, De La Cerda 0-1, Gilliam 0-4), Texas-Permian Basin 4-17 (Feeney 2-4, Falley 1-2, Martin 1-5, Taylor 0-1, Rieder 0-2, Turner 0-3). Rebounds — Eastern New Mexico 27 (Gilliam 5), Texas-Permian Basin 38 (Thompson 9). Assists — Eastern New Mexico 13 (Gilliam 4), Texas-Permian Basi9n 11 (Feeney, Turner 3). Total fouls — Eastern New Mexico 31, Texas-Permian Basin 32. Fouled out — Domingo, Martinez, Clardy, Thompson. Technicals — Thompson. A — 129.

Source: Dave Wagner