Hounds outlast Chaps

LUBBOCK – Eastern New Mexico University’s men shot 54 percent for the game, including 69 percent in the first half, and all but led wire-to-wire.

Still, it took a key play on defense to secure the Greyhounds’ 88-84 Lone Star Conference men’s victory over Lubbock Christian on Saturday.

With what had been as much as a 21-point lead all but gone, LCU freshman guard Ethan Duncan went up for a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 20 seconds left.

Six-foot-7 senior guard/forward Jahcoree Ealy used his long wing span to go up and block Duncan’s shot, and junior forward Mario Whitley converted a pair of free throws to nail it down.

Whitley finished with a personal-best 23 points, going 9-for-14 from the field, and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Senior guard Greg Johnson added 21 points while Ealy, in his second game back after missing four contests due to an NCAA inquiry, chipped in 15.

“It felt good getting that block,” Ealy said. “I was just doing whatever I could to get that win.”

While the Hounds (15-9, 11-7 LSC) shot the lights out, they limited the Chaps (19-7, 14-4) to 45 percent, including 6-of-22 from distance. LCU stayed in it by converting 22-of-31 foul shots.

It was ENMU’s first win at Rip Griffin Center since 2017, and completed their first season sweep over the Chaps since LCU joined the conference for the 2019-20 campaign.

“This is a really tough place to play,” ENMU men’s coach Brent Owen said. “When you play a team like that on the road, you have to do (almost) everything right.”

LCU led 3-0 early before the Hounds scored six points. The Chaps tied it twice, but a 3-pointer by Whitley put the Hounds in front for good and they extended the margin to 34-13 after junior guard Tre’Von Love capped a stunning 18-1 run with a pair of free throws at the 7:26 mark.

It was 66-48 after a Johnson basket with 15 minutes left before the Chaps began to chip away. A rebound goal by junior guard Najeeb Muhammad gut the margin to eight with six minutes left, and a layup by junior guard Aaron Gonzales pulled LCU to 76-73 with 3:20 left.

Duncan’s 3 with 37 seconds left made it 85-84. Ealy went 1-for-2 from the line with 26 seconds remaining, then came up with his block against Duncan.

Muhammad led five Chaps in double-figures with 21 points. Duncan added 17, but was limited to 7-of-20 from the floor and 3-of-10 from long range.

LCU 66, ENMU 45 (women) – The Lady Chaps used an 11-1 run to open a 14-point lead early in the second quarter and never looked back.

LCU (18-7, 13-5) led 30-18 at halftime. The Hounds (8-16, 4-14) found some rhythm offensively when play resumed, but couldn’t get enough stops to make any inroads and trailed 50-33 after three.

An 8-0 run by the Lady Chaps to start the final quarter put the contest completely out of reach.

Despite the relatively easy win, only junior forward Grace Foster reached double figures for LCU with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including four 3-pointers. All 12 players who saw action scored for the Lady Chaps, who shot 50 percent from the floor on 26-of-52.

Senior guard Ashley Shipley and senior guard/forward Deja Adrian led the Hounds with 11 points apiece.

After finishing four-game road swings, ENMU squads are set for three-game homestands beginning with Thursday tilts against Oklahoma Christian at Greyhound Arena. Their final regular-season games are at Western New Mexico on March 2.