Hounds at halftime of LSC play

PORTALES — The adage goes that you can only run halfway into a forest. Any farther, and you’re now running out of the forest.

It’s already been an interesting journey through the Lone Star Conference forest for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams at Eastern New Mexico University. Both are at the halfway point of the conference schedule, with a first half that’s already included overtime dramatics and 4-on-5 stunners.

On Thursday, both teams start running out of the forest. The Greyhound squads head to Cameron on Thursday, with the women tipping off at 5:30 p.m. and the men at 7:30. On Saturday, the bus travels to Midwestern State for a doubleheader that tips off at 1 p.m.

Through their first 10 games in LSC play, the Greyhound women (13-5 overall) sit tied for second place with West Texas A&M at 8-2, with Angelo State sitting at 9-1 and Texas A&M-Commerce fourth at 7-3. They’re coming off a 79-78 win over Texas Woman’s on Thursday.

The men, 7-10 overall, have played nine LSC games and sit in sixth place at 4-5 — a game behind Tarleton State and a agme ahead of Texas-Permian Basin and Cameron. West Texas A&M leads the men’s field at 8-1, and defeated ENMU 74-69 last Tuesday.

Barring a late-season collapse, and a rather huge one for the women at that, both teams appear heading to the LSC tournament in March, with the top eight teams in each receiving spots.

ENMU women’s coach Josh Prock and men’s coach Tres Segler shared their thoughts on the upcoming slate of games:

• Women vs. Cameron (7-11, 4-6): The teams met Dec. 1 at Greyhound Stadium, with Eastern taking an 85-65 victory. The Hounds put things on ice early with a 20-6 second quarter, and were led by Treyanna Clay scoring 16 to lead four in double figures.

“The biggest thing with Cameron is you’ve got to take away their 3-point shot,” Prock said. “They’re one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the conference. If they get going, they’re very tough to beat.”

• Women vs. Midwestern State (6-11, 3-7): In the conference opener for both teams, ENMU took an 80-64 victory. The Greyhounds led 46-19 at the half, and the Mustangs dominated an academic fourth quarter 31-15.

Clay scored 15 to lead five in double figures, while Alivia Lewis had 11 points and 13 boards.

“With Midwestern, they’re more of a grind-it-out team,” Prock said. “You’ve got to be ready for their physicality, you’ve got to be ready for their toughness. They’re going to give you some opportunities, but you have to be able to execute. We’re going to have to hit shots.”

• Men vs. Cameron (7-11, 4-6): Behind a balanced effort, the Greyhounds took an 86-72 victory as Nick Brown scored 19 to lead four in double figures. Zachary Dumas had 17 for Cameron, which trailed 41-25 at the half.

• Men vs. Midwestern State (6-13, 2-7): Sophomore Devin Pullum had a brutally efficient effort with 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting in 23 minutes of action, and went 4-of-5 from the 3-point line.

“Both of those programs, the coaching staffs will be ready for us,” Segler said. “Whenever we go in, we’ve got to get good starts. We have to be confident and force our will. Cameron is going to play five guards at times. We’re going to have to defend that. Midwestern, they have some bigger forwards. The willingness to change styles of play in a three day span confidently is going to be key.”

Coming up: When the Greyhounds return home, they’ll have a four-game homestand starting Feb. 7 against Texas-Permian Basin.