Athletic Report
December 9, 1999

GREYHOUNDS EDGE CAMERON, 66-64
Peoples Picks up Loose Ball, Scores with 0:07 Left
PORTALES, NM — Eastern New Mexico University freshman guard Torry Peoples (Hobbs, NM/Hobbs H.S.) picked up a lose ball underneath the ENMU basket and scored on a lay-in with 0:07 remaining, breaking a tie and giving the Greyhounds a 66-64 victory over visiting Cameron University.

The win improved ENMU to 3-5 on the season. Cameron, which defeated 1998-99 Lone Star Conference champion Midwestern State 91-88 in two overtimes last Saturday, fell to 1-7 overall.

The winning play came on Eastern’s final offensive possession of the game. The Greyhounds took over the ball with 39 seconds left — enough time that Cameron was assured of a final possession of its own. ENMU point guard Cord Wilburn (Sr., Artesia, NM/Otero J.C.) ran off much of the time near mid-court before starting Eastern’s offense. Junior guard Brandon Ridenour (Lovington, NM/New Mexico J.C.) shot from 16 feet with just under 10 second left, but his shot was blocked.

The rebound bounced off several bodies at the top of the lane, then rolled toward Peoples. He picked up the ball and scored the final points of his 12-point, 7 rebound performance.

Cameron in-bounded the ball, but faced full-court pressure from two ENMU players. The Aggies remained under pressure when they reached the offensive end, and were trapped near the sideline when time expired.

The game featured several key offensive runs by both teams. Eastern New Mexico opened the game by canning 8 of its first 12 shots, including 4 three-pointers. The Hounds led 22-11 with 11:04 left in the first half. Cameron countered by outscoring ENMU 13-8 the rest of the half.

The Aggies opened the second half with 21-7 run that gave Cameron a 45-37 lead with 12:28 remaining. ENMU rallied behind the shooting of freshman forward Keenan Browder (Gary, IN/Bishop Noll Institute).

Browder scored all 16 of his points in the second half, including 12 points in the final 10:22. ENMU led 56-50 with 6:25 to go, but Cameron regained the lead at 60-59 and the score remained close the rest of the way. Ridenour, who led all scorers with 21 points for ENMU, hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game to give the Greyhounds a 64-62 lead with 1:48 remaining.

Cameron tied the scored at 64-64 on a shot by Brandon Kephart with 0:40 left. Kephart was Cameron’s top scorer, with 16 points. He also grabbed 10 rebounds for the Aggies. Alex Ihler contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds for CU, while Micah Boylan added 9 points and Marcus Lee scored 8 points.

In addition to leading ENMU in scoring, Ridenour provided 6 rebounds and 3 assists. He was 4 of 8 on 3-pointers, helping the Greyhounds finish 10 of 24 from behind the arc. Browder, in his best game so far, was 5 of 8 from the floor, and hauled down 7 boards. Cameron shot just 23.7% (9 of 38) in the first half.

The Aggies finished the game at 31.4% from the field, including 10 of 32 from 3-point range. Cameron converted 10 of 13 charity shots. ENMU shot 40.4% from the field, and converted 10 of 12 free throws.

Ridenour was 5 of 6 at the line, and Browder converted 4 of 4 free throw attempts. Ridenour’s brother, Heath, a freshman playing in his first game, scored 3 points (1 of 2 three-pointers) in two minutes on the court. Heath also played on the 1999 ENMU football team.

The Greyhounds remain at home on Sat., Dec. 11 to take on Lubbock Christian University. Game time at Greyhound Arena is set for 1:00 p.m.