Tarleton takes two from Eastern

STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State erased a four-point deficit with less than 17 minutes left and rolled to a 70-52 Lone Star Conference men’s crossover victory over Eastern New Mexico University on Saturday night.

Reserve Rich Francis scored 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting, hitting 5-of-5 second-half 3-pointers, while center David Stephens added 13 points and 14 rebounds as the Texans (5-1) ran their winning streak against ENMU to 14 games.

Senior Irshaun Pinckney scored 16 points and dished out four assists for the Greyhounds (3-5). Junior Jason Breland added 11 points off the bench.

TSU also won the women’s matchup, taking a 64-53 win over the Zias.

Tarleton’s men led by seven early on, but the Hounds closed to 21-20 at halftime on a 3-pointer by Pinckney with nine seconds left.

ENMU led 26-23 after a jumper by Breland and a layup by Reggie Wallace, and had its biggest margin at 30-26 after a basket by Jamaal Hunnicutt with less than 17 minutes to go.

The Texans, whose only loss came at New Mexico State, then tied the score twice before taking the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Francis with 13:43 left.

Two free throws by Pinckney with 12:40 remaining pulled the Hounds within a point, but Tarleton went on a 14-0 run at that point which included two 3-pointers by Francis and a dunk by Nic Gamble.

ENMU didn’t get closer than 11 the rest of the way. The Hounds got just seven points in the game from their starters, other than Pinckney.

Both teams got off to slow starts in the women’s matchup, but the TexAnns (3-4) took control with a 12-0 run early in the second half.

TSU led by four points three times in the early going, but the Zias (5-4) pulled even 13-13 with 10:54 left in the half.

Tarleton then erased a one-point deficit with just over two minutes left in the half on five free throws for a 20-16 lead. A basket by ENMU’s Tia Doss made it a two-point game at halftime.

The Zias took a 25-24 lead on a free throw by Tiana Bryant with 17:50 left before the TexAnns took off on their decisive run. Four players contributed points in that stretch, including four each by TaNesiah Lamb and Ashton Jenkins.

ENMU scrambled back within five points late, but the TexAnns made 8-of-10 free throws in the final 1:34 to seal the deal.

Lamb led Tarleton’s balanced attack with 13 points, while Lee scored 17 and Doss 12 for ENMU.

Men

Tarleton State 70, ENMU 52

Eastern New Mexico (3-5) — Jamaal Hunnicutt 1-3 0-1 2, Edmound Elzy 1-3 0-0 2, Jolen Montoya 1-4 0-0 3, Irshaun Pinckney 5-7 4-4 16, Billy Austin 0-1 0-0 0, Reggie Wallace 4-9 0-0 8, Ean Forrest 1-1 0-0 2, Jamaine Francois 0-0 0-0 0, Aaron Rodriguez 0-1 1-2 1, Jason Breland 5-10 1-2 11, Chad Donnell 2-4 3-4 7. Totals 20-43 9-13 52.

Tarleton State (5-1) — Chris Dixon 2-8 0-0 4, Jake McWilliams 0-0 0-0 0, Randall Williams 4-9 1-4 9, LaShon Sheffield 3-11 2-2 11, Clarence Williams 0-2 0-0 0, Cornell Jones 2-3 2-4 8, Derek Atwood 0-0 0-0 0, Durrell Johnson 0-0 0-2 0, Rich Francis 7-8 0-0 19, Dustin Minter 0-0 0-0 0, Nic Gamble 3-7 0-0 6, David Stephens 6-12 1-2 13. Totals 27-60 6-14 70.

Halftime — Tarleton State 21, Eastern New Mexico 20. 3-pointers — Eastern New Mexico 3-8 (Pinckney 2-3, Montoya 1-2, Elzy 0-1, Wallace 0-2), Tarleton State 10-18 (Francis 5-6, Sheffield 3-7, Jones 2-3, Dixon 0-2). Rebounds — Eastern New Mexico 26 (Hunnicutt 6), Tarleton State 37 (Stephens 14). Assists — Eastern New Mexico 12 (Pinckney 4), Tarleton State 16 (Jones 4). Total fouls — Eastern New Mexico 17, Tarleton State 20. Fouled out — none. A — 413.

Women

Tarleton State 64, ENMU 53

Eastern New Mexico (5-4) — Mika Robertson 2-9 0-0 4, Tiana Bryant 1-3 1-2 3, Tia Doss 5-10 2-3 12, Heather Brown 0-2 0-0 0, Laci Lee 5-9 7-9 17, Riikka Lehtonen 4-6 0-0 8, Casey Rodriguez 0-0 1-2 1, Ashley Davidson 0-1 0-0 0, Loren Scarlett 2-4 3-4 8. Totals 19-44 14-20 53.

Tarleton State (3-4) — Tamisha McGinty 1-5 2-4 4, TaNesiah Lamb 5-8 3-4 13, Isha Brown 0-3 4-5 4, Katie Crawford 3-9 3-5 10, Amanda Franklin 4-12 3-4 11, Ashton Jenkins 2-5 0-0 4, Afton Stowers 0-0 0-0 0, Michelle Martin 3-4 0-0 8, Kimberly Smith 1-2 0-0 2, Casey Davies 1-5 4-4 6, ArcTrena Stills 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 21-55 19-26 64.

Halftime — Tarleton State 20, Eastern New Mexico 18. 3-pointers — Eastern New Mexico 1-9 (Scarlett 1-1, Lehtonen 0-1, H. Brown 0-2, Lee 0-2, Robertson 0-3), Tarleton State 3-16 (Martin 2-3, Crawford 1-5, McGinty 0-1, Smith 0-1, Davies 0-3, Franklin 0-3). Rebounds — Eastern New Mexico 26 (Scarlett 8), Tarleton State 42 (Jenkins 8). Assists — Eastern New Mexico 7 (Robertson 3), Tarleton State 14 (Crawford 4). Total fouls — Eastern New Mexico 24, Tarleton State 18. Fouled out — Robertson. A — 326.