ENMU men, women come up empty at Cameron

LAWTON, Okla. – For the second time in Lone Star Conference play, Eastern New Mexico University’s men put together a furious late rally on the road, only to fall short.

Cameron was in control for most of Saturday’s Lone Star Conference matchup, but had to fend off the Greyhounds in the closing seconds for an 84-80 victory.

The result lifted the Aggies (15-8, 11-6 LSC) one-half game ahead of the Hounds and into third place in the West Division standings. ENMU (14-8, 10-6) still holds the No. 5 seed for the LSC’s post-season tournament in early March on a tiebreaker with St. Edwards (17-8, 10-6) by virtue of a 103-70 win over the Hilltoppers on Nov. 30 at Greyhound Arena.

Down 80-65 with five minutes to play, ENMU used a 15-0 run to tie the score with 1:26 left on two free throws by senior guard Greg Johnson, who finished with 35 points on 11-of-19 shooting, including 4-of-5 from distance, and 9-of-9 foul shots. Aggies junior guard Reggie Prudhomme missed a floater in the closing seconds, but 6-foot-7 senior forward Andre Washington’s tip-in gave the Aggies the lead with one second to go.

Freshman guard Miles Gurske then stole the inbounds pass and make two foul shots with less than a second remaining to seal it.

In a game at Angelo State on Jan. 6, the Hounds trailed 80-62 with under three minutes to go before a furious rally left them just short in an 88-85 loss to the Rams.

Prudhomme finished with 18 points on 6-of-9 3-pointers and added seven assists for Cameron, while 6-foot-8 senior guard Jaylan Thomas added 12 and Washington collected 11 points and eight boards.

ENMU led 18-6 six minutes into the game, but the Aggies converted six 3-pointers over the next 10 minutes to open a 39-27 advantage. A late 3-pointer by Thomas made it 47-34 at the intermission.

Only junior guard Mario Whitley joined Johnson in double figures for ENMU with 10 points.

Cameron 64, ENMU 64 (women) – The Aggies erased a 26-23 halftime deficit with a 14-0 run to start the third quarter and went on to post their second four-point win over the Greyhounds this season.

Junior guard Katie King was named the LSC’s offensive player of the week on Monday after dropping 25 points on ENMU on 9-of-17 shooting, including 5-of-7 from distance. Junior center Shamica Smith added 14 points and junior guard Courtney Cash 12 for the Aggies (9-14, 7-10).

Senior guard/forward Deja Adrian led the Hounds (8-14, 4-12) with 25 points, two off her season high. Senior guard Vanessa Oduah came off the bench to add 16 on 7-of-10 shooting, including a couple of 3-pointers.

Still down 57-46 with six minutes left, the Hounds mounted a comeback that started with a 2-point basket and a 3-pointer from Oduah and a 3-point play by Adrian to close the difference to three with just under four minutes to go. Cameron countered with the next six points and led 66-61 after a free throw by Cash with 17 seconds remaining.

Senior guard Ashley Shipley then delivered a 3-pointer with nine seconds on the clock, but Smith iced it by making two free throws with four seconds left.

ENMU squads finish a stretch of four road outings in a row this week, visiting West Texas A&M on Thursday and Lubbock Christian on Saturday.