LAS VEGAS, N.M. – ENMU men's basketball lost to (RV) Fort Lewis on a last second three-point buzzer beater, 84-81, Friday afternoon.
The Greyhounds did not trail for the last 29 minutes of the game until Brenden Boatwright scored a basket in the final shot of the game to give the Skyhawks the season opening victory.
"This game was a great opportunity to see where we stand with 12 new players on our roster going up against a team receiving votes in the national top-25 polls," said head coach
Brent Owen. "We were down early and showed great poise coming back from that to take a significant lead throughout most of the game."
ENMU fell down early, 9-0, as FLC went 3-for-4 from deep range to begin the game. Midway into the first half, Eastern got into a grove and used an 11-0 run to take the 20-17 lead and did not let that go away until the buzzer beater in the final frame.
Eight players scored eight or more points for Eastern New Mexico. Leading all scorers was
Grehlon Easter who finished the day with 14 points with eight coming from the charity stripe.
Starters
Greg Johnson (13 pts) and Bła
żej Czerniewicz (11pts) joined Easter in double figures. Czerniewicz scored all of his points in the first half which helped the Hounds spark a run to lead by eight points at the break.
Fort Lewis' Akuel Kot (22 pts) and Jaquaylon Mays (20 pts) led the team in scoring and hit a combined seven three-point shots. FLC hit 14 treys, but none was bigger than the buzzer beater by Boatwright.
"We played hard enough to win, but our execution down the stretch was not good enough," said Owen. "The good news is we don't have long to wait for another opportunity to earn a win as we prepare for tomorrow."
ENMU will conclude the opening weekend of the season against New Mexico Highlands tomorrow at 2 p.m. The Cowboys fell to Angelo State earlier today.