Hounds' struggles on road continue at WT

CANYON, Texas – Eastern New Mexico University’s men took a 2-0 lead in the second minute of Thursday’s Lone Star Conference matchup against top-ranked West Texas A&M.

It was all downhill from there.

WT scored the game’s next 11 points and never looked back, rolling to a 93-68 victory over the Greyhounds and dropping ENMU to 0-3 on its four-game road stretch. With the win, the Buffaloes (23-1, 18-0 LSC) ran their winning streak to 20 dating to an 80-79 home loss to Metro State on Nov. 16.

ENMU (14-9, 10-7), which lost to WT 89-87 at Greyhound Arena on Jan. 20, regained the services of senior guard/forward Jahcoree Ealy, who returned after a three-game absence due to an NCAA inquiry. Ealy, the LSC’s top scorer at 21.6 ppg, paced the Hounds in this one with 18 and added 10 rebounds, but shot just 5-of-15 from the floor and he didn’t have nearly enough help against the potent Buffs attack.

“They were tougher than we were,” ENMU coach Brent Owen said. “That hasn’t been our issue. We’re usually the tougher team.”

Buffs junior forward Larry Wise, averaging just under 20 in his own right, had his second consecutive off night, also shooting 5-of-15 and finishing with 16 points. Meantime, senior guard Zach Toussaint tallied 17 points while senior guard Ryland Holt and freshman guard Kieran Elliott also had 16 points and freshman guard Noah Pagotto added 11 off the bench on 5-of-6 shooting.

Holt had six of WT’s eight blocked shots in the contest, while Elliott matched Ealy for game rebound honors with 10.

Senior guard Greg Johnson scored 15 points for the Hounds, while freshman center Conrad Luczynski finished with nine.

WT shot 47 percent in the first half en route to a 45-29 lead. The Buffs opened a 25-point advantage on two free throws by Hyland with 13:55 left, and the Hounds never got closer than 17 the rest of the way.

For the game, the Buffs were 33-of-71 from the floor, including 11-of-27 from distance, and converted 16-of-20 foul shots. Meantime, they held the Hounds to 38 percent from the field and 5-of-17 from long range.

West Texas A&M 70, ENMU 62 (women) – The Greyhounds built a 28-18 lead early in the second frame, then managed only two more points the rest of the half as the Lady Buffs began to take control.

WT stretched its five-point halftime lead to 43-30 with an 8-0 run to start the third quarter, finishing a 25-2 surge overall.

ENMU (8-15, 4-13) countered with a 12-4 sizz, all coming from junior forward Ishuana Hunter (seven) and senior guard/forward Deja Adrian (five), to close to 47-42. Down 52-44 after three, the Hounds pulled to within six on a basket by Hunter at the 6:01 mark, but they got no closer.

Junior guard Karley Motschenbacher scored 19 points for WT (15-10, 10-7), which has won five of six. Junior post Jayla Burgess chipped in 18 and sophomore guard Kyla Kane had 16, the latter off the bench.

Hunter, who became eligible at the semester, posted her third double-double of the campaign with game highs of 24 points and 12 rebounds while Adrian finished with 18 and senior guard Vanessa Oduah added 10. Those three accounted for all but four of ENMU’s field goals, going a combined 22-of-38.

ENMU squads ended their road swing on Saturday at Lubbock Christian. They play three of their final four tilts at home, beginning on Thursday with Oklahoma Christian and on Saturday against Arkansas-Fort Smith.