Hounds prepare for rematch with West Texas

The Eastern New Mexico University men’s basketball team is on a four-game winning streak that includes an 89-74 homecourt triumph over Lone Star Conference South Division rival West Texas A&M just five days ago.

ENMU coach Shawn Scanlan knows the 6 p.m. (MST) rematch on Monday night against the Buffaloes at the WT Event Center in Canyon, Texas, should be much tougher.

“We just have to make sure everybody’s prepared for the environment,” Scanlan said as the Greyhounds (15-6, 5-1 South) enjoyed an open date on Saturday. “It’ll be a tough place to win.”

ENMU extended its winning streak on Thursday night with a hard-fought 79-76 verdict over Midwestern State at Wichita Falls, Texas. WT (13-8, 3-3) lost to MSU (14-7, 4-2) Saturday night in Wichita Falls.

Scanlan noted that the Hounds struggled most of the way on Thursday, but made enough plays at the end to pull out the victory.

“To our players’ credit, they stepped up in the last 3 1/2 minutes,” he said. “It was just a really good, tough finish for us on the road against a good team.”

In Monday’s win over WT, junior forward Jamaal Hunnicutt led four Hounds in double figures with 18 points. He also added 10 rebounds, seven assists, four blocks and three steals.

Also in that game, junior guard Kennis Green scored 17 of ENMU’s 37 bench points.

Guard Rod Prater led the Buffs with 22 points while guard Carl Lamb, who did not star, added 18 of his 20 points in the second half to help keep WT in striking distance.

The Hounds have had a good run lately against WT with four wins in the last six meetings, including four of five in South play.