Buffs notch 108-97 win over ENMU

CANYON, Texas – In a high-scoring affair, West Texas A&M’s men pulled away late on Saturday to post a 108-97 Lone Star Conference victory over Eastern New Mexico University.

Eleven players finished the game in double figures, including six for the Greyhounds. WT (11-5, 9-1 LSC), which shares the West Division lead with Angelo State, got 30 points and six assists from senior guard Julius Brown, while junior guards Larry Wise and Zach Toussaint added 22 and 16, respectively.

Also in double digits for the Buffaloes were senior guard Damion Thornton (13) and junior guard Larry Wise (11). Junior forward Jahcoree Ealy led the Hounds (10-6, 5-5) with 24 points, including 19 in the second half, while junior guard Greg Johnson had 16 points, senior guard Grehlon Easter scored 14, freshman guard Junior Hodnett tallied a personal-best 11 off the bench and sophomore forward Errol White and freshman forward Jose Murillo added 10 apiece.

WT opened an early 16-6 advantage with a 9-0 run. The Buffs eventually led by 18 points, but the Hounds pulled back to 55-42 at halftime, helped by several reserves.

“I was proud of the group who was in late in the (half),” ENMU men’s coach Brent Owen said. “They’re a young group and … they gave us a fighting chance.”

ENMU managed to close to 80-76 on two free throws by junior forward Jahcoree Ealy with 5:44 remaining, but WT took off from there. Brown’s free throw with 50 seconds left put the Buffs at the century mark and Wallace finished it off with a late dunk.

“In one of the toughest places in (NCAA Division II) basketball, our guys played hard, tough and together,” Owen said. “Cutting the lead to four points … showed their toughness.”

ENMU dominated the glass with a 46-27 rebounding margin, led by White with 18. The teams combined for 85 free throws, with the Buffs going 37-of-41 and the Hounds 32-of-44.

WT 84, ENMU 55 (women) – The Lady Buffs, ranked 20th in Division II and led by former ENMU coach Josh Prock, used an 18-2 run at the end of the half to take control.

Four players reached double digits for WT (15-3, 8-2 LSC), including two former Greyhounds – senior guard Zamorye Cox of Portales with 13 points and senior post Kamirah Decker with 11. Meantime, sophomore guard Karley Motschenbacher led the team with 17 points and freshman guard Kyla Kane came off the bench for 13 as 10 Lady Buffs scored.

Early on, though, it was competitive. It was tied 12-12 five minutes in, and the Hounds grabbed a 24-22 lead with just over seven minutes to go in the second stanza on a 3-pointer by junior guard/forward Deja Adrian.

However, they managed only two points rest of the half and trailed 40-26 at the break.

ENMU promptly cut the margin back to four with a 10-0 run to start the third period as senior forward Edecia Beck hit a jumper, junior guard Ashley Shipley made a 3-pointer and Adrian scored five points in a row. But the rest of the frame was all Lady Buffs and they carried a 56-42 advantage into the final canto.

“WT shoots the ball extremely well, especially at home,” ENMU women’s coach Meghan De los Reyes said. “Our team played hard. The score doesn’t (show) how many good things we did today, and I’m proud of our effort.”

ENMU was paced in scoring by Adrian and Beck with 12 points apiece, while Shipley chipped in 10.

While the Lady Buffs shot 41 percent on 3-balls (12-of-29) and went 14-of-15 from the free throw line, shooting woes continue to hurt ENMU – 28 percent from the field, including 5-of-23 from distance, and just 10-of-20 from the foul line.

ENMU squads return to Greyhound Arena this week, hosting Texas A&M International on Thursday and Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday.