Hounds gain weekend split, stun Bison

CANYON, Texas — Finally, Eastern New Mexico University’s men showed they can play defense.

Facing a team ranked 24th nationally in one Division II poll, the Greyhounds held Oklahoma Baptist in check for the most part in claiming a 70-66 victory over the Bison on Saturday night to gain a split in West Texas A&M’s Pak-A-Sak Thanksgiving Classic.

The Hounds will be in New Mexico this week for a pair of games, hosting Lone Star Conference rival WT in a non-league outing at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Greyhound Arena and then taking on University of the Southwest in a 3 p.m. tipoff on Saturday at The Rock in Clovis.

A day after losing to Southwestern Oklahoma, picked for 10th place in the 12-team Great American Conference, the Hounds stunned the team favored to win the GAC title with a solid overall performance.

ENMU (3-3), which had been allowing nearly 87 points a game prior to Saturday, took the lead for good early in the second half against OBU (3-3) and fought off the Bison down the stretch.

Freshman guard Kentrell Pullian’s layup with three seconds left gave the Hounds a 29-28 halftime lead, and they extended that to 43-33 in the first six minutes of the second half. Oklahoma Baptist closed to within a point twice midway through the period, but was never able to overtake the Hounds.

ENMU led 68-61 with just over a minute left. Two free throws by freshman forward D.J. Freeman and a 3-pointer by senior guard Jaquan Simms made it a 2-point game with 34 seconds remaining, but ENMU ran the shot clock down and Pullian found senior Yosnier Cobas for a layup with five seconds to go to seal it.

Despite the relatively low score, both teams shot efficiently — ENMU at 54 percent, the Bison at 53 percent. In the second half, the Hounds were 16-of-27 (59 percent) from the floor while OBU went 14-of-20 (70 percent).

Pullian finished with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including a couple of 3-pointers, and a team-high five assists. Sophomore guard Adam Hess added 15 points and shot 3-for-6 from distance.

For the Bison, Simms finished with 21 points on 9-of-12 from the floor, including 3-of-4 on 3s, while senior guard Burke Putnam added 19 points and Freeman scored 13.

The Hounds hold a 5-1 lead all-time over OBU, but the teams hadn’t met since 1985.