Hounds collect first victory in LSC

SILVER CITY — It took them a while, but the Eastern New Mexico University men’s basketball team is finally on the board in the Lone Star Conference.

The Greyhounds (7-8, 1-4) got the key run in a game of runs, breaking a tie when senior guard Javaan Mumtaz hit a pair of free throws with 6:05 left to kick off a 10-2 surge, and ENMU held on late for a 78-71 win over the Mustangs (2-11, 0-5).

It was the third win in a row for the Hounds, and their first conference road win since beating Cameron at Lawton, Oklahoma, in February 2014. It snapped a 10-game LSC road losing streak and a 12-game slide away from home overall.

In addition, the seven wins so far this season are the most for the program since the 2013-14 squad won 14 games.

Junior guard Joe Clarke scored a season-best 22 points, going 7-for-8 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Junior guard Marquise Harris added 16 points, while Mumtaz finished with 10 points off the bench.

Only six players scored for WNMU, but all reached double figures, including sophomore guard and Clovis High grad Willie McCray with 11 points. Freshman guard Eddie Giron led the Mustangs with 15 points.

ENMU scored the first seven points of the contest, capped by a 3-pointer from junior forward Andre Hughes, but the Mustangs went on a 12-0 run capped by McCray’s layup to open their largest lead of the game at 17-9 with 12 1/2 minutes left in the half.

The Hounds countered with a 19-5 surge and led by six, but went scoreless the final five minutes of the half as WNMU rallied for 13 points and a 35-28 advantage.

ENMU cut the deficit to one with the first six points of the second half and took a 42-41 lead on a layup by Harris with 165:35 remaining. The Hounds never trailed again, although WNMU tied it twice, the latter at 62-62 on Giron’s 3-pointer with 6:05 to go.

The Hounds shot just 40 percent from the field to 48 percent for the Mustangs, but hit on 52 percent of their floor attempts (17-of-33) in the second half. They were also helped by 18 offensive rebounds and 14 second-chance points, and forced WNMU into 22 turnovers resulting in 19 points.

ENMU is idle until next Thursday when it hosts Cameron in a noon conference matchup at Greyhound Arena.