St. Mary's has final run, edges ENMU

SAN ANTONIO — In a back-and-forth battle, St. Mary’s had the final run of the game and the Rattlers pulled away to a 76-66 victory over Eastern New Mexico University in Lone Star Conference men’s basketball on Saturday.

Meantime, the ENMU women completed a weekend road sweep with a 72-65 victory in the first half of the twin bill.

Freshman forward Jose Murillo’s rebound basket with 5:49 left capped a 6-0 run and gave the Greyhounds (5-3, 0-2 LSC) a 59-58 advantage, but the Rattlers promptly scored the next 10 points to take control.

Six-foot-9 junior forward Tyler Caron played all 40 minutes in the men’s contest and scored a personal-best 29 points for the Rattlers (3-2, 2-0), coming up just shy of a double-double with a game-high eight rebounds. It was St. Mary’s first 2-0 start in conference play since 2012-13, when it was a member of the Heartland Conference.

Senior guard Ryan Leonard added 12 points for the Rattlers, going 3-for-4 from the field, including 2-for-2 from 3-point distance, and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. St. Mary’s forced the Hounds into 18 turnovers and held a 24-13 edge in points off turnovers.

Senior guard Grehlon Easter scored 10 of his team-high 14 points in the opening moments, while Murillo and sophomore forward Errol White each added 10 points for ENMU.

Easter’s quick start kept the game close early before back-to-back 3s by Caron propelled St. Mary’s into a 28-21 lead with six minutes left in the half. The Hounds rebounded with a 9-0 run, and White’s deep 2-pointer in the closing seconds gave ENMU a 35-33 halftime advantage.

Two free throws by senior guard Eze Dike made it a four-point game 29 seconds into the second stanza, but two foul shots by junior guard Jalon Johnson at the 18:15 mark started an 11-point surge capped by Caron’s dunk with 15:08 left to give the Rattlers a 44-37 edge.

The Hounds chipped away, finally moving in front with back-to-back baskets from Murillo. Tyler scored on a stickleback on St. Mary’s next trip, though, and the Rattlers went on to salt it away.

Both teams shot just under 50 percent for the game, but the Rattlers were able to convert 22-of-28 free throws to 8-of-11 for ENMU.

The Hounds are now idle until Dec. 15, when they host Texas-Tyler in a 7 p.m. LSC clash at Greyhound Arena.

Women — Junior guard/forward Deja Adrian scored a season-best 26 points and the Hounds held on late after building a 63-47 margin on Adrian’s 3-pointer with just over five minutes left.

St. Mary’s (5-2, 1-1) went on a 17-4 run and closed to 67-64 on a jumper by senior forward Tonia Bilic with 49 seconds remaining. ENMU, which won at St. Edward’s on Thursday to start conference play, then closed out the Rattlers by going 5-of-6 on free throws in the remaining time.

For the game, the Hounds shot 22-for-28 from the foul line, a season-best 81 percent, including 15-of-17 in the final period. Senior forward Edecia Beck was 9-for-9 off the bench in the game, while Adrian finished 5-for-5 and junior guard Ashley Shipley added 5-for-6.

Sophomore guard Bella Stone finished with 11 points, and senior forward Laz Saunders chipped in 10. The Hounds were just 4-of-21 from distance, but compensated a bit by controlling the boards 41-33 with Saunders grabbing a game-high nine and Adrian, who had her fourth game of at least 22 points, collecting eight caroms.

It was ENMU’s fourth consecutive win in the series, and the third since the Rattlers joined the LSC in 2019. Overall, the Hounds have a 5-3 advantage all-time over St. Mary’s.

The ENMU women will be in Clovis on Saturday to host a 5 p.m. non-league tilt at Rock Staubus Gym against Northern New Mexico before returning to league action against Tyler at 5 p.m. on Dec. 15.