Wednesday, January 14, 2015
PORTALES, N.M. — The Eastern New Mexico University men's basketball team (7-9; LSC 0-3) whittled a 17-point deficit all the way down to just three points, but was unable to pull even in Wednesday evening's 75-67 Lone Star Conference setback to Texas A&M-Kingsville (6-9; LSC 1-2) at Greyhound Arena. Junior guard
John Gilliam (San Bernardino, Calif./Upland HS/Chaffey College) paced the Hounds with 19 points, which included 14 in the second half.
With their victory, the Javelinas avenged last year's sweep by the Greyhounds.
Texas A&M-Kingsville held a 43.3-25.8 percent advantage in shooting percentage in the opening half and charged to a 37-26 lead at intermission. After the teams exchanged buckets in the early going of the second half, the Javelinas took a pair of 17-point leads, the last coming at 54-37, on Troy Jones' short jumper with 12:16 to play.
Chris Wyms (Jr., G, Carson, Calif. / King Drew Medical Magnet HS / Cerritos College) hit a short jumper of his own to spark a 9-0 Greyhound run, which pulled the Hounds within eight points, 54-46, with 9:03 left. After TAMUK extended its lead to 12 points with just over seven minutes remaining, the Greyhounds continued to chip away. A Don Thomas free throw staked TAMUK to a 70-62 lead with 1:49 left, but
Michael Randle (Sr., G, Houston, Texas / James Madison HS / Paris JC) hit a trey, followed by a driving layup from
Darrelyn McCloud (Sr., G, Albuquerque, N.M./Manzano HS/NMMI) with 53 seconds left, to pull the Hounds to within three points, 70-67. Thomas hit four free throws in the final 35 seconds to seal the game.
Eastern outscored Texas A&M-Kingsville by a 41-38 margin in the second half and held a 50-36.7 percent lead in shooting percentage during the period. For the contest, the Javelinas held a 24-14 lead in points off turnovers and a 15-4 edge in second chance points. Wyms contributed 10 points, while Gilliam also grabbed nine rebounds and blocked three shots. Thomas paced the Javelinas with 19 points.
The Eastern New Mexico University men's basketball team will visit Angelo State on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. MT.