FRISCO, Texas – Eastern New Mexico men's basketball is advancing to the Lone Star Conference tournament semifinals for the second time in the last three years after an 84-73 win over (7) West Texas A&M.
"They are experienced. They are really good," said head coach Daven Võ when referring to West Texas A&M after the game. "I am proud of our guys getting through that adversity."
The victory ties a program record third-straight win for ENMU over WTAMU. Earlier this season, Eastern earned a home and road win over the Buffs. This is the third time Eastern New Mexico has beaten their rival three-straight times and the first it has happened in a single season.
One would say that the Comerica Center felt like Steve Loy Family Foundation Arena as several fans donned the green and silver during today's win. The crowd was easily quadruple the size of the WT faithful and octuple the loudness. One former Greyhound women's basketball coach noted that he had never seen a time where the WT crowd was so small comparable to another opponent.
Four players scored in double figures for the Greyhounds.
Cooper Jackson had a team-high 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting. It is just two points shy of his career-high of 23 points in a win at Western New Mexico earlier this season. Jackson also had four steals in the victory and is officially the school record holder in steals in a career with 151 total.
"It was an all-around good game from the starting five and all the way to the bench," said senior
Cooper Jackson when asked about the win. "I couldn't do it without any of my teammates."
One area where Jackson made a difference was from behind the arc. The senior guard sunk 3-of-6 from deep range. It's just the fourth time this season he has made three three-point baskets in a game. As a team, ENMU only sunk seven threes.
Eastern's defensive pressure forced 13 turnovers and allowed the Hounds to pick up 10 steals along the way. Both
Mo Austin and
Treyvon Byrd had two steals each. Austin came into the game ranked in the top 10 nationally in total steals.
Senior forward
Jose Murillo continues to dominate opposing defenses as he scored 19 points on 8-of-11 from the floor. Murillo is now ninth on the all-time scoring list at Eastern New Mexico with 1333 total points. The two Greyhounds he passed? Bill Griggs (1949-53) and Jerry Hyder (167-71).
Murillo moved into second all-time with 708 rebounds in his career. He is 14 boards away from tying the school record mark of 722 held by Jamaal Hunnicutt (2001-05).
"My teammates give me the confidence," said forward
Jose Murillo after the game. "I am really proud of my team right now. I know we can accomplish something big."
Treyvon Byrd had his third double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds. He helped the Hounds win the rebounding battle, 34-27. One area where Eastern has struggled recently is rebounding, but today they were able to crash the glass more effectively.
Eastern New Mexico came into the contest ranked second nationally in field goal shooting percentage. Today, they exceeded their season average by going 35-for-60 (58.3%).
Off the bench, ENMU had some excellent support.
Kobe Smith drained a three pointer early in the contest and
Elijah Hollins played strong minutes late in the win while picking up five points, a steal, and an assist. One of the most fun plays of the night came with
Alex Alfaro blocking a shot attempt and
Cooper Jackson recovered the rebound and took it coast-to-coast for a bucket.
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Eastern scored the game's first two buckets off a fastbreak layup from
Cooper Jackson and a three-pointer from
Treyvon Byrd, but then WT began a response of their own. The two sides would continue to trade leads throughout the whole first half. West Texas A&M led by as many as seven points and Eastern held the edge by as high as eight points. A late 13-0 run for Eastern New Mexico allowed the Hounds to secure a slight lead going into the break.
At the intermission, ENMU was led by Jackson who had 16 of his 23 points in the opening frame. At that point, the Greyhounds also had
Treyvon Byrd and
Austin Abrams with seven points each. One other interesting tid bit is that ENMU did not attempt a single free throw in the opening half of action.
Murillo had 13 of his 19 points in the second half. The final period of play is where Eastern stretched their lead and solidified their trip to the conference semifinals. WT tied the contest early in the second half once, but never saw a lead for themselves. Instead, Eastern chipped away and extended their lead by utilizing players like
Elijah Hollins and
Jose Murillo to extend the advantage.
ENMU scored 50 of their points in the paint. They also added 14 points on second chances.
Eastern New Mexico advances to the semifinals to face the three seed, Lubbock Christian. The Chaps beat St. Edward's in a come-from-behind win as they erased a 15-point deficit. They were led by Antonio Pusateri who earned his 21st double-double of the season. The game will be played Mar. 7 at 2:30 p.m. CT at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas.