Pullum rallies Hounds to win in LSC opener

PORTALES - In some parallel universe, a different coach gets hired in Portales two years ago, and Devin Pullum comes to Greyhound Arena Thursday night with his Midwestern State teammates, carrying on his older brother's Mustang legacy.

In this universe, he's building his own legacy at Eastern New Mexico, and Thursday was one of his biggest chapters yet.

The sophomore guard had a team-high 20 points in a brutally efficient 23 minutes, with numerous key plays down the stretch as the Greyhounds topped the Mustangs 85-73 in the Lone Star Conference opener for both teams.

Isaac Maldonado was one of three others in double figures with 12 points for the Greyhounds (2-4, 1-0 LSC), who won their LSC opener for the first time in six seasons by willing themselves to a 10-0 run midway through the second half that turned the tides on a Mustang comeback.

Pullum gave the Greyhounds the lead for good with 11:45 to go, getting open for a corner 3 after Darius Sawyer's pass got fumbled in the lane on a fast break. A minute later, a 3-point attempt by Midwestern's D'Monta Harris rebounded long and Pullum slapped the loose ball ahead for Sawyer on a runout and a nasty hammer dunk.

"Every time he dunks, it gets everybody up," Pullum said. "I thought that dunk gave everybody energy."

Greyhound coach Tres Segler said that fast break off a 50-50 ball is the kind of play the team consistently needs but rarely made in their 1-4 start.

"Normally, that's where we've struggled," Segler said of a 24-11 first-half lead turning into a 58-54 Midwestern lead over 20 minutes of inconsistency. "We had leads at Fort Lewis and Highlands, and when we got up we would crumble. I was proud of our guys for coming back."

"It was a really headsy play. We've been holding back and hoping things go our way. That was just a, 'Let's go do it, let's make it happen.' Their confidence led to a big play, and the big play changed the momentum."

Midwestern State (3-5, 0-1) cut it back to 66-64 with 5:50 to play, but Eastern responded again with a 7-2 run closed out by Pullum's fourth trey of the night. The Mustangs - led by Jajuan Starks' 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting - never got closer than five after that.

In his 23 minutes, Pullum was 6-of-10 with four points and three assists and a game-high plus-19 from the floor.

"We knew he could play," Midwestern State coach Nelson Haggerty said of Pulllum. "He's a difference maker, and he gets after it. Percentage-wise, he hadn't shot the ball that well this season. But if he's hitting, he can carry a team."

That kind of night in any LSC game is great, but Pullum admitted it's special against Midwestern State, where his brother Devante played and he probably would have followed had Segler not left for ENMU and recruited him.

"Beating my brother's old team is great," Pullum said. "I feel like they didn't really want me. Every time I go against them, I feel like I've got something to prove even though I love them and I've got nothing against the school."

Pullum's game came with his family in the arena; they were the ones in green making sure to say hi to Haggerty before he left the Greyhound Arena floor. But they weren't alone, as Segler said families for Nick Brown and Maurice Coleman also made the trip.

"We had a lot of family in town - Mo's family, Devin's family and Nick's family - and I think they were more amped up," Segler said. "But sometimes when you're amped up, you play tight. I was very happy they locked in and focused."

The Greyhounds faced Cameron Saturday afternoon, with the game concluding after press time. They'll battle Arkansas Tech in a neutral-site game in Plano, Texas, on Tuesday, followed by two weeks off.