ENMU men stay close to Miners

El PASO, Texas — The Eastern New Mexico University men’s basketball team dropped its third and final exhibition game against Division I competition this season on Friday night, falling to Texas-El Paso 71-57.

The Greyhounds, who lost in earlier exhibitions at Tennessee and New Mexico, had the lead early in this one against the Miners. But UTEP took advantage of ENMU foul trouble to wrest the lead before halftime.

The Hounds cut a double-digit deficit to seven in the second half after an 11-1 run, but back-to-back 3-pointers helped the Miners re-establish control.

Junior guard Isaiah Murphy led ENMU with 14 points, while junior forward Yosnier Cobas hit 5-of-8 shots from the floor and tallied 11 points.

The Hounds (0-2 in the regular season) visit rival West Texas A&M on Saturday in a 3 p.m. (MST) tilt to begin Lone Star Conference play.