Late rally falls short, Hounds conclude hoops season

PORTALES — With a Lone Star Conference tournament berth in the balance, a last-ditch rally came up short for Eastern New Mexico University’s men on Saturday.

Trailing by seven points with under two minutes to go, ENMU junior Devin Pullum converted a 3-point basket and a three-point play, but two free throws by junior forward Yosnier Cobas failed to find the mark with two seconds left and Midwestern State escaped with a 68-67 win at Greyhound Arena.

MSU (8-20, 8-14 LSC) put together a bit of a mad dash with four wins in its final five games and thus earned the 12th and final spot in this week’s tournament with just its third win away from home this season, edging out the Greyhounds (8-19, 8-14), Cameron (9-19, 8-14) and St. Mary’s (12-16, 8-14). They played at fifth-seeded Lubbock Christian (18-9, 15-7) in a first-round tilt on Tuesday.

Tuesday’s four winners were to join the top four seeds with byes and advance to Frisco, Texas, for the final three rounds of the event starting on Thursday.

The Mustangs shot just 36 percent from the floor against ENMU in the opening half, including 3-of-17 from distance, yet still led 31-30 at the break. In the second half, Midwestern State converted 11-of-20 floor shots and added 11-of-14 from the foul line.

Only five players scored for the Mustangs, but all had at least nine points, led by senior guard D’monta Harris with 19.

ENMU had a 40-9 edge in bench points, but managed only 27 from its starters. Reserves Jose Serrano (13) and Marvin Mapaga (11) led the Hounds in scoring.

ENMU shot 40 percent from the floor, and misfired on 14 of 30 free throw attempts.

Both teams can certainly play the “what if” game. MSU suffered three one-point losses as well as a pair of overtime setbacks, all but one coming in conference play, while the Hounds finished the season 3-12 in games decided by six points or less, including 3-9 in the LSC.