Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
RICHARDSON, Texas — Both Eastern New Mexico basketball teams are predicted to finish one spot ahead of where they did last year in Lone Star Conference play, according to preseason polls released Wednesday by the conference.
The women are slotted fourth out of 11 teams, while the Greyhound men took the seventh position out of 10 in a poll of school and media representatives throughout the conference.
In both men’s and women’s competition, teams will play an LSC schedule consisting of home and road games against every other conference member. The top eight finishers in those games — 18 for the men, 20 for the women — will receive bids into the LSC tournament March 7-10 in Frisco, Texas.
Texas A&M-Commerce, which went 22-9 overall and posted its first NCAA regional tournament win in 13 years, took 15 of 28 first-place votes to claim the top spot. West Texas A&M, which took the regular season and tournament title last season, claimed 11 points and the second position.
They were followed by Tarleton State, Angelo State and Texas-Permian Basin, the latter claiming the final two first-place votes.
Rounding out the poll were Midwestern State, Eastern New Mexico, Cameron, Texas A&M-Kingsville and Western New Mexico.
The Lions’ Reggie Reid was named preseason player of the year. The 6-foot senior guard was the league’s newcomer of the year after going fifth in the LSC in scoring (16.3 points per game) and assists (4.2).
West Texas A&M took 18 of the 32 first-place votes in the women’s poll. The Lady Buffs went 29-5, made their fifth-straight national tournament, and won both the LSC regular season and tournament crowns last season.
Angelo State, which held a share of the regular season title, picked up seven first-place votes and finished second in the poll. Third-place Tarleton State (four) and fourth-place Texas A&M-Commerce (two) rounded out the remaining first-place votes.
Following the Greyhounds in the poll were Cameron, Texas Woman’s, Midwestern State, Texas-Permian Basin, Texas A&M-Kingsville and Western New Mexico.
Angelo State’s Marquita Daniels was selected to repeat as player of the year. Daniels led the Rambelles with 15.2 points and 3.4 assists per game, and also set a school record with a conference-best 103 steals.
The Greyhound men were 11-17 overall and went 6-12 in LSC play, clinching the eighth spot on the final day of the regular season. They’ll open the season 6 p.m. Nov. 9 against Fort Lewis College in a neutral-site game at The Pit.
The ENMU women were 16-12 overall and went 12-8 in LSC play, losing out on a tiebreaker with Tarleton State for fourth place. Their season opens 7:30 p.m. Monday at Arizona in the first of three exhibitions before the 4:30 p.m. Nov. 9 regular season opener at home against Fort Lewis.
