Savage Storm rains on Hounds

Freedom New Mexico

DURANT, Okla. — A slow start warmed up a little in the second half Saturday for Eastern New Mexico University’s men, but not enough to get them over the top.

Southeastern Oklahoma ended a 26-game losing streak dating back almost a year, edging the Greyhounds 44-42 in a Lone Star Conference crossover game.

The Savage Storm (1-8) rode a 17-point, 10-rebound, four-block performance from 6-foot-8 junior center William Slones to their first win since last Dec. 18, when they beat Missouri Western in a game played at San Antonio. ENMU beat Southeastern 89-59 at Greyhound Arena last January.

ENMU (2-6), just 5-for-21 from the field in a first half which ended in a 17-17 tie, built a couple of four-point leads early in the second half before the Savage Storm took the lead for good at 37-35 on a layup by forward Carlin Whitten — his only points of the game — with 5:57 left.

Trailing 44-39, junior Equs Darby hit ENMU’s only 3-pointer of the game with 42 seconds left. After an exchange of turnovers, ENMU’s Dannon Wafer missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer just before the buzzer.

Southeastern shot only 25 percent in thefirst half, but warmed up to 57 percent (12-of-21) over the final 20 minutes. That allowed the Savage Storm to overcome a 1-for-14 performance from 3-point range.

Guard Mychal Horn added 12 points for Southeastern while Darby’s 15-point output was the only double-firuge showing for the Hounds.

ENMU continues its weekend road trip today with a 3 p.m. (MST) crossover game against East Central in Ada, Okla.