PORTALES, N.M. — The Eastern New Mexico University men's basketball team lost by a mere two points to Angelo State Saturday, 70-68, falling one possession short of knocking off the No. 15 in the country and left still seeking their first Lone Star Conference win of the season.
The Greyhounds (4-12, 0-4 LSC) came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, jumping out to an early lead. The Rams (14-2, 2-2) kept the game close, but ENMU managed to retire to the locker room at half-time with a 28-27 lead.
The second half saw Eastern widen the gap between themselves and the Rams, leading by as many as 10 points early in the half. With under two minutes to play, the Greyhounds still held an seven point lead until four consecutive turnovers by Eastern saw Angelo not only tie the score, but take a one point lead with 39 seconds remaining.
A missed corner 3-pointer by the Hounds, followed by an Eastern foul, led to the Rams extended their lead to two with 12 seconds left to play. Going to their veteran guard John Gilliam, the senior managed to draw a foul and earn a trip to the free-throw line with mere seconds left on the clock.
Unfortunately, Gilliam would only connect on one of his free-throws, forcing Eastern to foul once again. An Angelo free-throw would end the game with the Rams coming out on top.
Despite missing his last shot from the charity stripe, Gilliam was very impressive in only his second game back since missing more than half of the season due to injury. The veteran went 7-9 from the line and finished with 13 points.
Javaan Mumtaz led all scorers, hitting five 3-pointers and finishing with 20 points. 15 of his 20 points came in the second half. Ladarius Stewart finished with eight points and 10 rebounds as well.
Lawrence Domingo played a major role in the contest, going 5-11 from the field, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Unfortunately, Domingo was absent from the floor during the last several minutes of play due to fouling out.
Domingo said, "I picked up a couple of early fouls that took me out of the game at the end. I feel like im one of the more vocal guys on the team and being in there at the end of the game, I think I could've helped calm things down. But credit to Angelo State, they played very hard and came back to win the game."
Mumtaz' 20 points set a new career-high for the New Zealander and his five three pointers tied a career-high which he set the week prior against Cameron University.
"I just got into a rhythm, and it being a home game makes it a little easier. Everything seemed to be falling and I wasn't trying to force anything," said Mumtaz. He continued about the outcome of the contest, "It was our game to win for sure, but credit to Angelo as they fought hard to come back and win. We just made some mistakes towards the end of the game there that made it tough to win."
The Greyhounds will head to Tarleton State Wed., Jan. 20, for their next LSC matchup. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. (MT) in Stephenville, Texas.