LAWTON, Okla. – Down by as many as 18 points with 12 minutes to play at Aggie Gym, Eastern New Mexico men's basketball tied the game with 86 seconds remaining. Cameron ended up scoring the games final four points to earn an 84-80 win.
Greg Johnson was the Hounds biggest weapon offensively as he connected for 35 points on 11-of-19 shooting. The Arkansas native managed to grab two rebounds and two assists.
CU saw three different starters (Reggie Prudhomme, Jaylan Thomas, and Andre Washington) score in double figures.
The story of the game came to three different offensive bursts between the two squads.
Eastern New Mexico opened the game with an 18-6 edge six minutes into regulation. Then, the Aggies crashed the early scoring party with a major rally of their own. Over the next ten minutes, CU tallied a 39-27 lead courtesy of six made three-pointers in that stretch of action.
Cameron held a comfortable advantage until the clock hit 2:51 remaining. That is the moment when a pair of
Greg Johnson free throws tightened the deficit to just six points. The Greyhound's 15-0 run ended up tying the game and giving ENMU chances in the closing seconds.
Instead, CU prevailed and gave Eastern its second loss in three days.
One of the key differences between the first and second half for the home squad came with making shots. Cameron connected on 54.8% of their shots in the opening period, but shot an ice-cold 30.8% in the second.
ENMU on the other hand posted shooting woes in the first half of action as they made 41.2% of their attempts. They managed to make 15-of-30 (50%) from the floor in the second half.
Sophomore
Jose Murillo led all players on the court with nine rebounds, but CU outrebounded Eastern by five (38-33).
The Hounds saw limited offensive production from the bench as three players off the bench combined for just ten points.
Eastern will now focus on No. 1 West Texas A&M. The game will be played Thursday in Canyon, Texas.