Hounds beat OPSU, Zias lose

Staff report

SAN ANGELO, Texas — Junior guard Demetrius Balark led five Eastern New Mexico University players in double figures with 20 points and the Greyhounds never trailed en route to a 102-94 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State in the Ed Mussberger Tip-Off Classic, hosted by Angelo State.

Senior guard Michael Randle added 18 points, junior forward Lawrence Domingo scored 17, junior guard Deyton De La Cerda had 12 and junior guard John Williams finished with 11 for the Hounds (2-0), who led the entire game except for 2-2 and 22-22 ties. ENMU was coming off a 92-88 overtime win on Friday over Texas A&M International.

Antonio Manns Jr. scored 36 points and grabbed eight rebounds for OPSU (0-2), which lost on Friday night to host ASU. The Aggies placed three others in double figures.

OPSU shot 38 percent from the field, but stayed in some striking range by making 38-of-47 free throws. The Hounds, meantime, shot 45 percent overall but went just 10-of-40 from 3-point range.

A 3-pointer by De La Cerda broke a 2-2 tie and the Hounds went on a 15-2 run to lead by 13 five minutes in. The Aggies countered, though, tying the score on a 3-pointer by Jay Straight midway through the half.

Another De La Cerda 3 put the Hounds back in front and stated an 8-0 run. They led by 17 points before going scoreless the final 2 1/2 minutes of the half and settling for a 52-40 advantage.

OPSU got within two points about seven minutes into the second half, but a 3-pointer by junior guard John Gilliam keyed a 10-0 ENMU surge. The Hounds opened a 20-point lead with five minutes left, and the margin never got under double figures until the final five seconds.

Zias fall to Mountain Lions — At Golden, Colo., Abby Kirchoff’s basket broke a tie and lifted Colorado-Colorado Springs past the ENMU women 62-59 in the Tony Corbetta Classic, hosted by Colorado School of Mines.

The Zias (0-2) erased an early four-point deficit with a 9-0 run that featured two 3-pointers by senior forward Tori Tucker and one by junior guard Jaylyn Cooper and maintained the lead until the final five minutes.

Down by three, junior guard Jordyn Cooper’s 3-pointer pulled the Zias even 59-59 with 21 seconds left.

Kirchoff, who finished with 19 points, put Colorado Springs ahead on the next possession, then Brittany Hernandez made a backcourt steal and hit 1-of-2 free throws with three seconds left. The Zias did not get off a final shot.

Hernandez posted a double-double with a game-high 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Mountain Lions, who hit 16-of-27 shots from the field in the second half after going just 9-of-37 in the first. ENMU led by as many as 14 points and maintained a double-figure lead until the final 10 minutes.

The Zias shot 52 percent (12-of-23) in the first half, but went just 10-of-30 over the final 20 minutes.

Tucker, who played all 40 minutes, finished with a team-high 14 points.