FRISCO, Texas – The Eastern New Mexico men's basketball team's season came to a heartbreaking end as Hounds fell to Tarleton State 87-85 on a last second shot in overtime at the Comerica Center during the first round of the Lone Star Conference Tournament Thursday night.
The Greyhounds came close to picking up their first LSC Tournament victory since 2003, but the Texans made a game-winning shot with 0.6 seconds left in OT to conclude the Hounds 2018-19 campaign.
Eastern got off to a cold start as the Texans held ENMU scoreless for the first 4:32 before Nick Brown buried a three-pointer from the left wing to cut the deficit to 5-3. The bucket ignited an 11-2 run that involved another Brown three-pointer as well as a three from Maurice Coleman to give the Greyhounds an 11-7 edge with 13:27 to go.
Tarleton State battled back to tie the game on a pair of occasions, but a Chukuka Emili dunk and layup pushed the edge back to four at 19-15 with just over 10 minutes to go until the break.
The Texans kept the game close before a three-pointer by TSU's Brandon Goldsmith followed by a Dexter Johnson putback put the Texans back in-front 32-30 with 4:28 remaining.
The Hounds fought back to tie the game twice on a Coleman layup and a pair of Zach Parker free throws with 2:34 left, but four unanswered from TSU pushed the Texans advantage back to four at 38-34 with 1:11 to go.
Eastern closed out the half with a 4-0 run in the final minute on an Arcaim Lallemand putback and a pair of Darius Sawyer free throws with six seconds on the clock to draw the game into a 38-38 deadlock heading into the halftime break.
Early in the second half, the Texans scored on back-to-back possessions as another Goldsmith three put TSU ahead 43-40, marking their largest lead of the second half.
Eastern rallied with six unanswered, ignited by a Coleman jumper followed by a pair of scores from Zach Parker to give the Hounds a 46-43 edge just over four minutes into the second half.
Following a layup from TSU's Clashon Gaffney to trim the ENMU lead to one, the Greyhound put together a monster 12-3 run. Devin Pullum started the streak with a fastbreak layup off an Emili steal and was capped off on a Zach Parker three-pointer to Eastern its largest lead of the ballgame at 60-48 with 10:20 to go.
Tarleton State chipped away at the ENMU advantage over the next six minutes, outscoring the Hounds 17-7 to close the gap to two on a Gaffney layup with 4:40 remaining, making it a 67-65 game.
The Hounds temporarily stifled the Texans on a pair of Emili layups in-between a Goldsmith layup to hold a four-point edge with 3:18 on the clock. However, Tareton State continued to chip away from the foul line down the stretch as TSU's Jesse Hill converted on a pair and Randall Broddie added two more on the ensuing possession after a technical foul was called on the Greyhounds, tying the game at 71 with 1:58 left.
Coleman put Eastern back in-front with a layup from the right side and drew a foul to convert a three-point play with 1:15 remaining, but the Texans again responded with a three-pointer on the ensuing possession to draw the game even at 74.
Pullum and Broddie traded clutch free throws down the stretch make it a 76-76 game with 12 seconds left, giving Eastern one final shot a potential game-winner in regulation. On the Hounds final possession, Pullum left a jumper just short from the left side, sending the game into an extra session.
Eastern got off to a fast start in the overtime period, scoring six of first eight points on an Emili jumper, a pair of Coleman free throws and capped off on a jumper by Parker to give Eastern the 82-78 edge with 3:28 remaining.
However, momentum swung in favor of Tarleton after a Gaffney layup and then a Jesse Hill three-point play off a steal and putback underneath the basket to put the Texans ahead 83-82 with just under two minutes to go in overtime.
The Texans added to their lead with a Goldsmith layup while also stopping the Hounds on four straight possessions to make it an 85-82 game with under 30 seconds to go.
On the Hounds final possession, Parker left a three-pointer short 14 seconds on the clock, but Brown was in the right place for the offensive board, finding Parker again out on the right wing and he converted the second opportunity, tying the game at 85 with 10 seconds left in overtime.
Unfortunately for the Greyhounds, their season came to a tough end when Broddie sank a jumper from the right side with 0.6 seconds on the clock to give Tarleton State the win.
Both teams were evenly matched in the contest as each team shot 42.9 percent from the field and committed just 13 turnovers, but the Texans were slightly better from behind the three-point arc and made six more free throws to give TSU the edge in the contest.
Pullum led four Greyhounds in double-figures with 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting while Coleman, Emili, and Parker each finished with 14 points apiece. Emili was strong on the defensive end with a team-leading three steals and a pair of blocks, while Lallemand turned in a team-high eight rebounds to go with two blocked shots.
With the loss, the Hounds ended their season 13-14 overall, but finished fourth in the LSC with a 10-8 mark in conference play. Playing in their final games as Greyhounds: Brown, Coleman, Emili, Lallemand, and Parker led Eastern to its finest record in LSC play since the 2003-04 season when the Hounds were the conference champions with a 10-2 mark.