Hounds' homecoming

The college basketball season has marched into February, meaning the remaining games are getting scarcer - and more important.

This week, both Eastern New Mexico basketball teams have crucial Lone Star Conference games at Greyhound Arena, with each hosting UT Permian Basin on Thursday and Western New Mexico on Saturday.

The women face UTPB at 5:30 p.m. Thursday and take on WNMU at 2 p.m. Saturday. The men follow each game, with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff against Permian Basin scheduled for Thursday, and a 4 p.m. start against Western slated for Saturday.

LSC games are always big, and it's especially so in this case. The Eastern women are 9-3 in the conference, tied for second with West Texas A&M. Neither is out of the race for first place, though Angelo State is two games up at 11-1.

Eastern's men are 5-6 in the Lone Star and hope for a return to the conference tournament, with 4-6 Permian Basin just a half-game back in the LSC standings. Adding to Saturday's drama will be ENMU honoring the 50th anniversary of the Greyhounds' 1969 national championship team.

It should be quite a week for Eastern basketball. And having it all take place at Greyhound Arena doesn't hurt.

"It's nice to be able to play at home," said ENMU women's head coach Josh Prock, whose team is 14-6 overall. "Especially after being away for a week. It's nice to be at home in front of our home fans for sure."

"Our crowds have been incredible at home," Eastern men's head coach Tres Segler said.

Here's a look at this week's matchups:

Women's

Though UT Permian Basin has had a tough season - 0-12 in LSC play, 3-17 overall - Prock takes nothing for granted.

"Permian has a very aggressive defense," he said. "They really try to get you to turn the ball over. You've got to take care of the ball and make the plays when they become available."

Prock says the teams aren't too similar in styles, an example of which is UTPB's 1-3-1 pressure defense. "We play a little more full-court and different-type zones," he said. "One similarity is both teams like to press you and get you to turn it over."

So good housekeeping will be crucial.

"Yeah, I think that's the biggest key is just taking care of the ball," Prock said. "And you've got to be able to make your shots, too. You're going to have some available shots; you've got to knock them down when they're there."

One item of interest is that UTPB's roster includes 2018 Clovis High graduate Teya Morris, whose collegiate career-high so far was 11 points in a Dec. 14 game against Arlington Baptist on 4-of-7 (57 percent) field-goal shooting and 3-of-6 (50 percent) shooting from beyond the arc, which she accomplished in 19 minutes of floor time.

Saturday, the Greyhounds host another struggling LSC team - Western New Mexico, who's in next-to-last place at 3-9 LSC (7-12 overall). But there will be no looking past Western, either.

"Western's a little different (than UTPB)," Prock said. "They will get up and press you some, but they will focus on their half-court defense. We've got to pressure them to try to turn it over and get easy possessions on offense.

"We've got a size advantage," Prock added, "and we're going to have to take advantage of our low-post play. We had some success with that the last time (playing Western on Jan. 3). We're going to try to do that again."

Men's

Perhaps the Greyhound men are lucky to be 8-11 overall and 5-6 in the LSC, considering all the trevail they've endured throughout the season.

Injuries have been the main thing. And then there was that game against Texas A&M-Commerce, most of which the Hounds played at a 4-on-5 disadvantage due to brawl-related suspensions.

They've been plugging away, though, playing competitive basketball even in defeat.

"We finally got some guys back that are battling injuries, so I feel like we're finally healthy," Segler said. "I never want to use things like that as excuses because you always have to line up and play the game. And I'm proud of our guys; they've never used that as an excuse."

This week the Greyhounds return home, hoping to sweep a pair of LSC foes that they already swept on the road last month.

Segler wasn't especially satisfied with the victory over UTPB. "When we played Permian Basin the first time through, we really didn't play our best basketball game," he said. "What you're going to get with Permian is a very high powered offense. They have three Division I transfer guards who are really good, and at their place we let those guards get some shots in. So here, we're going to have to get some stops early."

The trio of Falcon players to which Segler referred are juniors Kyree Elder and Jacob Ledoux, and senior Xavier Ledet. Of Elder and Ledoux, Segler said: "Those are two of the best guards in the Lone Star. Either one of those guys is capable of going off for 20."

And Segler knows Ledet is no slouch, either. "He played really well against us at their place," Segler said. "He's a guy we've got to shut down."

And then there's the Greyhounds' offensive approach, which Segler and his staff will be able to execute with a fairly healthy lineup.

"They're going to run a zone for most of the game," Segler said. "It's a game where we've got to be really aggressive, but we've also got to share the basketball. I think it's going to be a game where for us to win, we need to have four or five guys have good games because we're sharing the basketball."

Though Western is 4-13 overall, 1-9 LSC, Segler thinks it will still be a challenge to outduel the Mustangs. He says they're "similar (to UTPB) from the standpoint that they have a lot of good guards. Their guards are their primary weapons.

"They're just a very tough basketball team," Segler continued. "If you're not the aggressor, they'll have a chance to beat you. ... They're going to try to drive the ball to the paint and kick it out for open shots. We play man defense so we're going to have to stay in front of the basketball."

Segler says Western head coach Matt Enriquez is, in some ways, a mirror image of him.

"We have similar philosophies," Segler said. "We always want our teams to be the toughest team on the floor that night. Whenever you have two similar styles on the floor ... it's those toughness moments it comes down to, what team wants to win it more. It's one of those 'Rocky' type games - it's a back-and-forth slugfest."