PORTALES, NM - Eastern New Mexico men's basketball are preparing for two back to back Lone Star Competitions as they welcome DBU and Tarleton State to the Greyhound Arena. 

LAST WEEK
Greyhound men took a couple of hard hits over the weekend falling to Angelo State and Lubbock Christian.  The Hounds trailed for majority of the contest against Angelo State but fought hard in the second half tying up the game 75-75 with just over a minute to play. Junior guard, Devin Pullum snatched a layup with 45 seconds on the clock as the Rams responded with their own two pointer.  A foul on the Hounds would take the Rams to the line extending Angelo State to a three point led and eventually a win. 

In their next contest of the week, the Hounds visited the RIP Griffin Center for a match up against the Lubbock Christian Chaps. By the middle of the first, the Chaps jumped out to an early 13 point led. Freshman Nicolas Matheus subbed in and knocked out a three closing in on the Chaps, while teammate Yosnier Cobas put up a layup bringing the Hounds within eight. With five minutes left on the clock the Greyhounds struggled offensively unable to catch up to the scoring capabilities of the Chaps. Junior Jose Serrano was a key play maker for the Hounds closing the scouring gap multiple times throughout the contest. Serrano scored 19 points over the Chaps connecting on 6-for-9 free throws and also grabbed seven rebounds. Senior Isaiah Murphy impressed against Lubbock Christian going 4-for-4 from the three point arc and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Murphy finished the contest with 16 points, his third time posting 15 or more points this season. 

SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
DBU

Starting out their season, the Patriots went on a nine game winning streak before falling 102-78 to LSC competitor A&M-Commerce. The Patriots struggled in the month of January where they went 5-3 in conference play. Currently, DBU is on a two game winning streak after taking home court wins over Cameron and MSU. The Patriots shot above 61.0 percent from the field, and scored over 100 points in both contests. Chandler Jacobs, junior guard, is averaging 16.2 points a game while recording 340 points this season. Jacobs scored 32 points in the Patriots win over Cameron and another 27 against MSU. Jacobs is a familiar face for LSC Leaders currently ranked fourth for his field goal percentage of .548. Head coach Dr. Blake Flickner is entering his 15th season with DBU. Flickner has led the Patriots to four NCAA Division II tournament appearances while also winning a pair of Heartland Conference regular-season titles and two Heartland Tournament Championships.

Tarleton State 

Tarleton State struggled against Lone Star Competitors at the start of the season going 0-4 until the middle of December.  Tarleton State saw their first LSC win against Texas A&M-Commerce at home where the Texans scored 47 points in both half's for a 94-91 win. TSU is currently on a three game winning streak after a 74-72 loss at St. Edwards. TSU is ranked in the top five for multiple LSC categories including number three for team blocked shots. The Texans are also in the top five for offensive and defensive rebounds averaging 36.3 rebounds a game.

Chris Resiman is in his second year as the head coach for the Texans. Resiman led TCU to a 21-10 2019 season and earned a No. 5 seed in the LSC Tournament. The Texans advanced to the post season tournament for the 18th straight season. Josh Hawley, a senior forward, is a leader on the court for Tarleton State. Hawley is averaging 14.5 points, and 9.5 rebounds per game. The senior has scored 20 or more in seven contests this season and is shooting 73.5 percent from the free throw line. Freshman guard Javontae Hopkins posted a career high 25 points against TAMC going 3-for-3 past the arc and shooting a 70.0 percent in the field. Hopkins has posted 20 or more points twice this season. 

QUICK HITS

SHERROD STAYS IN TOP 5
Garrick Sherrod stays in the top five of the Lone Star Conference for free throw shooting percentage for the third week in a row. The junior is currently shooting 80.6 percent from the line going 54-for-67 this season.  This past weekend Sherrod didn't see any action from the charity strip against Lubbock Christian while connecting on 1-for-2 at Angelo State. Sherrod's best performance from the free throw line came in a loss against Western New Mexico earlier in this month. Sherrod scored over half his points from the charity strip after connecting on 7-for-7 free throws. The junior's performance against the Mustangs recorded his fifth game shooting 100 percent from the line.

HOUNDS SHOOTING BEYOND THE ARC
The Greyhounds have taken the fifth spot in the LSC for their team three point percentage of 36.2 connecting on 138-for-381 three pointers this season. The Hounds best performance beyond the arc this season came in a 81-66 win over Oklahoma Christian. As a team, the Greyhounds posted a 68.2 percent making 15 out of 22 three pointers for the contest.

BREAKING GREYHOUND RECORDS
Mathew Mazique is on his way to becoming a new Greyhound record holder shooting 92.9 percent from the free throw line connecting on 13-for-14 charity shots. The junior forward is currently ranked 9th in Greyhound history for single-season free throw percentage. A player must make a minimum of five free throws for a spot in the record books. Mazqiue is currently second, among the Greyhounds, behind Nico Matheus who has gone 4-for-4 this season. Mazique has not gone to the line in the last seven contests and will need to brush up on his charity shots to hold his spot in Greyhound history.

Brandon Meadows, junior guard from the Bahamas, is tied for 9th place in Greyhound history for a single-season three-point percentage. Meadows is currently shooting 50.0 percent from the arc going 13-for-26 this season. Meadows best performance from the arc was this past January when the junior went 6-for-6 and recorded a career high 16 points, as Hounds took a 100-97 win at UT Permian Basin.

ROAD TO THE LONE STAR CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
The Hounds have started the LSC tournament countdown with only six more games to play in the regular season. The LSC will take the top 12 in the conference, to move on to the post season tournament. In current standings, the Hounds are fourth in their division and tied for eleventh in the conference. The Hounds will need to secure wins over Cameron, MSU and UT Tyler to assist their chances in a post-tournament game. All three LSC competitors are ranked 14th or lower in the conference. 

The Greyhounds will support Breast Cancer Awareness for Thursday, Feb. 13th game against DBU.  The game is presented by Sodexo and Greyhound fans are encouraged to wear pink for the 7:30 p.m. tip off! The celebration continues as the Hounds will celebrate Valentine's Day for their Feb. 15th match up against Tarleton State. Tip off is set for 4:00 p.m and is sponsored by Parker Sports Medicine.