ENMU hoops squads set for road rematches

PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico’s women’s basketball team is getting set to face the defending national champion, and hopes it can also pick up a win over Angelo State.

Sound familiar? It should be, as the script flips on the home sites in Lone Star Conference play this week.

The men’s and women’s basketball teams are getting set for a Thursday matchup at Angelo State, followed by a Saturday doubleheader at Lubbock Christian after playing the same squads two weeks ago at Greyhound Arena.

For both of the teams, the games represent a chance to move up in the conference rankings. The ENMU women are currently tied for fourth with Angelo State, just one spot behind LCU. The Greyhound men are tied for 10th with Oklahoma Christian, and there’s a fourth-place tie, coincidentally, Angelo State and Lubbock Christian.

Here’s a look at each team’s scenario:

Women

4:30 p.m. Thursday at Angelo State (12-6, 9-5), noon Saturday at Lubbock Christian (17-3, 11-3).

Last time out: The Greyhounds routed Western New Mexico 83-53 at home Saturday, part of a four-game winning streak against teams ranked No. 13 or lower in conference play. The average margin of victory over the Mustangs, Texas-Permian Basin, Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International was 19 points per game, with each victory larger than the one preceding it.

“The way we’ve won the last four is the way we should be winning them,” ENMU women’s coach Josh Prock said. “We always try to impart onto the team to beat the teams you should beat and beat them the right way.”

Angelo State topped Texas-Tyler 69-66 Saturday, while Lubbock Christian fell 59-54 to conference-leading Texas A&M-Commerce.

Last meetings: The Greyhounds hosted both teams in mid-January, edging Lubbock Christian 69-68 in overtime and falling to Angelo State 70-60 at Greyhound Arena.

Keys against ASU: “Angelo continues to surround their big kid (De’Anira Moore with shooters). Defensively, they play a little more zone now than they previously did.”

Moore had 21 points, while her teammates shot 10-of-23 from long range in the previous matchup.

Keys against LCU: The Chaps, ranked second before they were dealt their first loss by the Greyhounds, have slid to No. 9 in the WCBA Division II poll. Sophomore Zamorye Cox had a career-high 29 points on 12-of-23 shooting, while junior post Alivia Lewis had 16 points and 18 rebounds.

“They’re going to try to limit Zam and her attempts,” Prock said. “They’ll also put forcus on Alivia. They both had great games last time.

6:30 p.m. Thursday at Angelo State (12-6, 9-5), 2 p.m. Saturday at Lubbock Christian (17-3, 11-3).

Last time out: The Greyhounds fell 81-76 to Western New Mexico Saturday at Greyhound Arena. Eastern New Mexico has lost five of its last six, but four of those losses are by a combined 16 points.

Last meeting: Two weeks ago saw the Greyhounds lose a close pair, 74-70 to Angelo State and 62-60 to Lubbock Christian.

Keys against ASU: Making plays late has been the difference in the standings. The Greyhounds are 3-8 in games decided by six or less, while Angelo State is 5-3.

“They’ve been on a pretty good roll,” ENMU coach Tres Segler said. “Cinco (Boone, 2001 Portales High grad) got them playing well. I think they are definitely one of those teams that have won those close games. That’s how they’ve maintained a top spot in the Lone Star.

“We definitely, most of the game, played as well as they did if not better. I think the guys were confident in that game, and hopefully we can carry some of that into Thursday.”

Segler said the Rams do a good job of switching on screens, and that the Greyhounds have to be better at finding mismatches.

Keys against LCU: “They’re such a high IQ basketball team, you can’t beat yourself. Nothing against Angelo, but they’re going to make some mistakes ... because of their style of play. With Lubbock Christian, they’re going to play smarter and more detail-oriented. We got beaten on several backdoor plays, and we knew they were coming.

“We want to make them beat us on plays they don’t normally make.”