St. Edward's stops Greyhound men

AUSTIN, Texas — St. Edward’s didn’t let Eastern New Mexico University’s men build on their first win of the season two nights earlier.

The Hilltoppers, ranked 12th in NCAA Division II, put five players in double figures on Saturday and handed the Greyhounds an 85-66 Lone Star Conference setback.

Senior guard Ashton Spears scored 23 points for the Rattlers (9-1, 3-1 LSC), including 11-of-11 from the free throw line. Junior forward Jake Krafka posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while senior guard August Haas and senior forward Lucas Doria also had 14 points each and junior forward Corey Shervill chipped in 10.

Leading the win for the Greyhounds (1-7, 1-2), who broke through with Thursday’s victory at St. Mary’s, were junior guard Devin Pullum with 15 points, senior guard Isaiah Murphy with 11 and junior forward Yosnier Cobas with 10, while senior forward Deng Kuany posted a career-best 10 rebounds.

ENMU hung around for much of the first half and was still within 55-46 before St. Ed’s took off on an 8-0 run, stretching its lead to 17 with just under 12 minutes to go. The Hilltoppers, coming off a Thursday win over third-ranked West Texas A&M, were up by as much as 21 points late in the game.

ENMU led just once, at 1-0 on a free throw by Cobas. The Hilltoppers went on a 13-3 run for a 10-point advantage, but the Hounds pulled to within a point on a Brandon Meadows 3-pointer with eight minutes left in the half before St. Edward’s carved out a 43-34 advantage at the break.

For the game, ENMU converted 9-of-22 from 3-point range and posted a 43-36 edge on the boards. But the Hounds were hurt by 23 turnovers, including 15 in the second half.

ENMU, which has played just once at home this season, wraps up pre-holiday play by hosting conference matchups against Arkansas-Fort Smith at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and Oklahoma Christian at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Greyhound Arena.