Hounds fall to Fort Lewis 82-59

Freedom New Mexico: Kevin Wilson ENMU forward Victor Reid goes up for a jumper against Kyle Behrens of Fort Lewis during the first half of Monday's non-conference game at Greyhound Arena. The visiting Skyhawks defeated the Greyhounds 82-59.

PORTALES — With the game well in Fort Lewis’ hands, a loose ball rolled all the way down to the other sideline. When the referee jokingly ordered Greyhounds guard Jimmie Marshall to go get the ball, Marshall joked back that he was tired.

Marshall’s jest seemed to fit the evening, as Eastern New Mexico University still seemed worn down from Saturday’s trip to Brigham Young. The result: The visiting Skyhawks coasted to an 82-59 victory Monday night at Greyhound Arena.

Kyle Behrens had a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds, and he got plenty of offensive help as Fort Lewis (9-3) posted a double-figure lead midway into the first half and never led by less than eight over the final 20 minutes.

Guard David Kanyinda added 19 points and DeAndre Lansdowne had 16 as Fort Lewis’ top three scorers matched the total ouput for ENMU (5-7), which lost for the sixth time in seven games.

“We aren’t accustomed to point production from Kyle Behrens,” Fort Lewis coach Bob Hofman said.

Greyhounds coach Andrew Helton said his squad just didn’t play well offensively or defensively, and there weren’t many offensive threats other than Marshall or Tyler Jefferson, who each scored 13 points.

“Tyler really scored the ball well in the first half, but we’ve got to have someone join him,” Helton said. “We definitely didn’t play well enough to be successful.”

Hofman thought the Greyhounds looked road-weary from Saturday’s 95-49 loss at BYU (14-1), ranked No. 25 in the latest Associated Press Division I poll.

Add to that better-than expected recoveries for Lansdowne, who has been plagued by knee trouble, and Kanyinda, shelved for the previous three games with an ankle sprain, and the Skyhawks rolled to the easy win.

The Greyhounds travel to Central Oklahoma Thursday night for a Lone Star Conference crossover game. The Skyhawks return to Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action with with an 8 p.m. game on Friday at Colorado-Colorado Springs.

“We all want to improve,” Hofman said. “We’re still trying to figure things out. Hopefully, we get better and so will Eastern.”