ENMU women bag first LSC win

STEPHENSVILLE, Texas — Score one for the Eastern New Mexico women’s basketball team.

A big one. The Greyhounds’ first Lone Star Conference win of the season, in fact.

With a stellar defensive effort down the stretch, the Hounds prevailed 78-73 in overtime against Tarleton State on the road Saturday.

The win boosts ENMU to 1-3 in LSC play, 4-5 overall. Tarleton State dropped to the same records.

Eastern kept Tarleton State without a field goal for the final 3:54 and outscored the TexAnns 14-8 in the overtime period. It allowed the Greyhounds to avoid a heartbreaking loss after they had squandered a nine-point fourth-quarter lead.

Saturday’s win marked the first time in 13 seasons that the Hounds have gone to overtime in consecutive games.

“Tarleton State is always a very tough environment to play in,” ENMU head coach Josh Prock said. “I was very pleased with the way we kept our composure to earn a hard-fought victory against a very talented Tarleton team. We won this game with our free throw shooting and I was very pleased with how we executed from the line.”

Aside from their defensive play in overtime, the Greyhounds performed well offensively, hitting their own final four shots of the extra period. They shot well throughout the entire game, shooting 52 percent from the field overall.

It almost went for naught in the fourth quarter, which Eastern began leading 50-41. Tarleton charged back, pouring in 23 points in a period that saw three ties and three lead changes in its final minute.

The Greyhounds actually trailed 64-62 in the waning seconds of the fourth, but after Dasia Johnson missed a layup, her teammate Mikaehla Connor was there to pick her up, tipping in the ball at the buzzer to end regulation.

Connor finished with 13 points, tying Jasmine Hotchkins for second in team scoring.

Kaylee Edgemon led the Hounds with 17 points on a scorching 83 percent shooting.

ENMU will visit St. Mary’s in San Antonio next Saturday, with tipoff scheduled for 1 p.m.

Eastern men lose heartbreaker

STEPHENSVILLE, Texas — The Greyhounds seemed poised to bag their own first Lone Star Conference win of the season Saturday, but it was not to be.

Despite a solid afternoon shooting the ball, especially from beyond the arc, the Hounds lost by a hair’s-breadth-difference of 68-67 on the road. As a result, they fell to 0-4 in LSC play, 3-7 overall. Tarleton, meanwhile, improved to 6-3 overall, 3-1 in the LSC.

Devin Pullum, a freshman, dropped in 19 points for ENMU, hittting a scalding 67 percent from the field overall and from three-point land. One of his threes occurred with 22 seconds to go, handing Eastern a 67-65 advantage. The win was within reach.

Tarleton’s Preston Enloe, however, knocked down a trey with just three seconds left, despite great defensive coverage.

Eastern’s painful loss came despite 14 three raining down for Eastern.

The Greyhounds did show some pluck early, rallying from an 11-0 hole to build a 29-23 halftime lead.

“Once again, I am incredibly proud of how hard our program fought today,” ENMU head coach Tres Segler said. “We faced a ton of adversity today and I was very impressed with how well our bench came in and lifted our team. Nick Brown and Devin Pullum were so locked in and ready to play at their maximal level. Shawn Shelton was awesome tonight as well. He gave us some huge baskets in the middle of their zone and without his toughness today, we’re not in the game.”

Brown contributed 20 points, including six treys, and doled out four assists.

Shawn Shelton joined them in double-digits, scoring 10 points to go with six boards. Jamani Piece ripped down nine rebounds.

The Hounds will visit New Mexico State in Las Cruces on Tuesday. Tipoff will be 7 p.m.