Sports Release
February 18, 1999

INDIANS DEFEAT GREYHOUNDS, 92-72
Eastern Stays Close to #9-Midwestern State Until Final Minutes
PORTALES, NM — The Eastern New Mexico University Greyhounds battled with nationally ranked Midwestern State for most of their Lone Star Conference game at Greyhound Arena on Feb. 18. In the end, MSU (#9 in NCAA Division II) claimed a 92-72 victory, but not until the Greyhounds had put up a scrappy battle.

ENMU (9-16 overall, 2-11 LSC South) trailed by just 3 points, 51-48, with 13:23 left in the game, and was within 6 points, 65-59, with 7:43 remaining.

Midwestern State went on a 14-4 run to increase its lead to 79-63 and put an end to Eastern’s final attempt to overtake the Indians.

Midwestern State (24-3 overall, 11-2 LSC South) built an early 21-6 lead, but the Hounds battled back. Eastern put together a 10-2 run, cutting the deficit to 23-16 with 8:54 remaining in the half. The Indians led 41-32 at the break.

The Greyhounds opened the second half with a 17-9 run to cut MSU’s advantage to three points. Senior center Byrone Williams (Chicago, IL/Alaska-Anchorage) completed the rally with a basket and foul shot with 13:23 remaining. Williams scored all 11 of his points in the second half, and finished the game with 11 rebounds.

Eastern’s high-scoring forward Deron Rippey (Sr., Brooklyn, NY/East Carolina), finished the game with 29 points. He also hauled down 9 rebounds and recorded 4 assists. Rippey has scored at least 19 points in 14 consecutive games, including all of Eastern’s LSC contests. He entered the game averaging 20.3 points per game on the season.

Junior guard Brandon Ridenour (Lovington, NM/New Mexico J.C.) added 13 points for ENMU. Point guard James Franklin (Jr., Houston, TX/Trinidad State J.C.) provided 7 points and 4 assists.

MSU was led by Edgar Arteaga, who provided 15 points and 9 rebounds. Richard Johnson scored 13 points to go with 5 rebounds, 4 assists and no turnovers. Tony Avezzano added 12 points on 4 of 4 three-point shooting — all in the second half. Eastern concludes its season on Sat., Feb. 20, when the Greyhounds host LSC rival Tarleton State University. Game time at Greyhound Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. (MST).