Wednesday, February 18, 2015

PORTALES, N.M. — Leading for the majority of the game, the Eastern New Mexico men's basketball team (7-18, 0-12 LSC) half way through the second period Texas A&M Commerce (19-6, 7-4 LSC) tied the game at 55-55 and went on a 19-6 run that Eastern could never overcome, finally falling 86-80 Wednesday.

Going into the locker room at half time with a 42-37 lead, the Greyhounds were in good position against the Lions, who shot 59.1 percent in the opening half and still found themselves behind.  It looked even better for Eastern considering the fact they were only shooting 29.4 percent from beyond the arc on 5-17 three point shooting.

The Lions' Darrell Williams wouldn't be contained though, continuing an impressive first half with an even better second half.  The big man would help his team tie the game with 12 minutes remaining in the contest, eventually taking the lead behind his performance.  Williams finished with 26 points and a game-high 19 rebounds. 

The Greyhounds were led by John Gilliam (Jr., San Bernardino, Calif. / Manzano HS / NM Military Institute) who put in 16 points in the first half, followed by another 11 in the second for a game high 27 on the night.  Three other Eastern players scored in the double digits, with Chris Wyms (Jr., Carson, Calif. / King Drew Medical Magnet HS / Cerritos College) scoring 16 points, Michael Randle (Sr., Houston, Texas / James Madison HS / Paris JC) with 10, and Demetrius Balark (Jr., Glendale, Ariz. / Raymond S. Kellis HS / Cochise College) with 10. 

This is the fourth game of the season Eastern has lost by eight points or less.  All three games have been against conference opponents, including Texas A&M Kingsville (75-67), West Texas A&M (76-73) and Cameron University (55-47).

The Greyhounds have two games left in the regular season, heading to Stephenville, Texas, to take on Tarleton Feb. 21, followed by a trip to Canyon, Texas, where they will face off with West Texas A&M Feb. 28.