PORTALES, N.M. — After leading by as many as 10 points against Cameron University, the Eastern New Mexico University men's basketball team gave up 12 costly second-half turnovers and would end up losing their Lone Star Conference opener 90-79 Thursday.
The Greyhounds (4-9, 0-1 LSC) held a nine point lead heading into the locker room at half time, but three straight turnovers to start the second-half saw the Aggies (9-6, 2-1 LSC) jump right back in the mix of things, tying the game quickly. While the Greyhounds clung to a two or three point lead with time running down, more turnovers and some hot shooting by Cameron would ultimately see the Aggies come out on top.
Ladarius Stewart led the Hounds with 20 points on 8-11 shooting, giving ENMU a strong performance in his first game back from the holiday break.
Javaan Mumtaz lit the scoreboard up from beyond the 3-point line, finishing the afternoon 5-8 from deep with 17 points.
Lawrence Domingo chipped in with 16 points to accompany his team-high seven rebounds.
Domingo was the catalyst that gave Eastern its largest lead of the night, scoring back-to-back-to-back layups, all of which resulted in three-point plays. His nine points in just over a minute's worth of time helped the Greyhounds go on 14-0 run to close out the first-half.
The story of the game though was twofold, with the Greyhounds committing 19 turnovers, 12 of which came in the second-half, and the Aggies scoring 57 points in the second as well. The 57 point outburst was in part due to the turnovers, with Cameron recording 26 points off the Greyhound errors.
Jamaal Brantley led the Aggies with a game-high 27 points, while three other Cameron players scored in double digits. JV Long and Cameron Lee both scored over 10 points, with the two combining for 12 points from the free-throw line. The Aggies would end the contest going 27-37 from the charity stripe while ENMU went 16-27.
Foul trouble was a major factor in the Greyhound loss, with
Chaunce Hill,
Stephon Edwards and Domingo all being saddled with fouls early and often. Hill and Edwards combined for only 28 minutes of playing time, with Hill playing mere minutes in the first half due to two quick fouls and Edwards only seeing slightly more court time for the same reason.
Brantley picked up his fourth fall mid-way through the second-half, but managed to stay on the court while avoiding his fifth through the closing buzzer. All three of the aforementioned Eastern players would end the game having fouled out.
Eastern will hit the road for their next conference matchup, taking on No. 6 Midwestern State Saturday, Jan. 9. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. (MT). The Mustangs are currently 12-1 and 1-0 in the LSC, holding the second best record in the conference.