Mustangs spoil ENMU's home finale 82-73

PORTALES – With a win at Arkansas-Fort Smith in their previous outing, Eastern New Mexico University’s men locked up a spot in the Lone Star Conference postseason tournament.

Meantime, Western New Mexico is still trying to squeeze in.

The Mustangs looked like the more motivated team on Monday night, handing the Greyhounds only their second loss in 14 games this season at Greyhound Arena, an 82-73 decision. The teams meet again on Thursday in Silver City in the regular-season finale for both.

WNMU (16-11, 10-11 LSC) committed twice as many turnovers as the Greyhounds (20-10), but had the advantage in almost every other statistical category.

“Eastern is a frustrating team to play because even when they miss they go chase the (rebound),” third-year Mustangs coach Zane Gibson said. “We still need to win on Thursday and get some help (to get in). I’m not looking forward to playing Eastern again because I’m sure they’ll be good.”

After ENMU rallied to tie the game 29-29 with the final seven points of the half, the Mustangs scored in the first eight seconds when play resumed and never relinquished the lead. They broke it open with a 19-4 run spanning 5 ½ minutes midway through the second half for a 17-point bulge.

“I’m disappointed that we didn’t quite have it tonight,” ENMU coach Brent Owen said. “We had a lot on the line.”

The Hounds are currently the sixth seed in next week’s eight-team tournament scheduled for Frisco, Texas. They still have a slim chance to move up to No. 5, but won’t finish below seventh because of tiebreakers.

Senior forward Jaylin McFadden led three WNMU players in double figures with 21 points. The Mustangs shot 53 percent from the floor to 38 percent for ENMU, converted 7-of-15 3-pointers and went 17-for-25 from the foul line.

Senior guard Grehlon Easter scored 14 points and junior guard Greg Johnson 12 for the Hounds. ENMU had won five of six coming in.

It was the final home game for Easter and senior guard Eze Dike, who both joined the team this year and helped the Hounds post their best record since 2003-04 (20-9), when they reached the NCAA Division II regionals, and their first winning campaign since 2013-14 (14-13).

“The loss is the loss, but the way we lost is going to keep me up all night,” Owen said. “We’ll see where we’re at (going into the tournament) when we go to Silver City.”

ENMU 71, Arkansas-Fort Smith 63 (Saturday) – The Hounds, who came into the weekend with just two road wins for the season, doubled that total with victories over Oklahoma Christian on Thursday and then the Lions to clinch a spot in the LSC tourney.

Easter led a balanced attack for ENMU with 13 points as the Hounds shot a season-best 55 percent from the floor. Also in double digits were junior forward Jahcoree Ealy with 12, sophomore guard Dwayne Chester III with 11 and freshman forward Jose Murillo with 10.

UAFS (11-16, 7-14) got off to a 5-0 lead, but the Hounds recovered to go in front 42-34 at the half. They then opened the second stanza on a 15-6 surge, forcing six turnovers in that span, to build a 17-point lead midway through the frame.

The Lions fought back, closing to five points with under 1 ½ minutes left, but a basket by Ealy near the end of the shot clock gave the Hounds some breathing room.

“We’ve had a rough time up to this point finding ways to win on the road,” Owen said. “I felt it was critical for us to (do that).

“Our guys really locked arms this week. Both games were a complete team effort.”

ENMU harassed the Lions into 20 mechanical errors, resulting in 27 points.

Fort Smith was led in scoring by sophomore guard Drew Miller with 22 points and freshman guard Payton Brown with 21.