Greyhounds Shoot 61.1% in the Second Half, Defeat West Texas A&M, 89-74
Hunnicutt Earns 18 Points, 10 Rebounds, 7 Assists

PORTALES, NM — Eastern New Mexico University shot 61.1% from the field in the second half to turn a 30-27 halftime lead into an 89-74 victory over arch rival West Texas A&M University, Feb. 2, at Greyhound Arena. Junior forward Jamaal Hunnicutt (Amarillo, TX/Hill JC) led the Greyhounds with an all-around performance that included 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. The Hounds improved to 14-6 overall, and moved into first place in the LSC South at 4-1. WTAMU fell to 13-7 overall, including 3-2 in the LSC South.

Eastern holds a half-game lead over Midwestern State University (3-1) in the LSC South standings. The Greyhounds will play at Midwestern State on Thursday, Feb. 5, at 7 p.m. (MST).

The night began with a four-way tie for first place in the division. In the only other LSC game on Feb. 2, Texas A&M University-Kingsville lost at Texas A&M University-Commerce, 62-61. TAMUK (3-2) fell into a tie with WTAMU for third place in the division, while A&M-C improved to 2-3 in the LSC South.

ENMU connected on 22 of 36 shots in the second half on its way to 59 points in the final 20 minutes. The Hounds finished the game 36 of 63 from the field (57.1%), including 6 of 10 on 3-point shots. Eastern achieved a 33-27 rebounding edge and committed 17 turnovers, while forcing 21 turnovers by WTAMU.

Hunnicutt, who recorded a triple-double with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against Abilene Christian University on Jan. 29, came close to another trio of double-digit stats against the Buffaloes. He fell three assists short of a triple-double, but still led the Greyhounds in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocked shots (4) and steals (3). He committed just one turnover while playing 39 minutes during the 40-minute game.

The Greyhounds trailed by small margins for most of the first half, including 14-10 at the 11:36 mark and 21-18 with 7:30 remaining in the half. Later, the Hounds scored six unanswered points to take a 28-23 lead with 3:35 left in the half. ENMU added just two more points before halftime, but still led by three points at the break.

In the first half there were five ties and eight lead changes, but the Greyhounds held the lead throughout the second half. Richard Higginbotham earned a steal and a layup for West Texas in the opening seconds of the period, but ENMU answered with a 9-0 run to build a 39-29 advantage with 18:15 left in the game.

West Texas A&M reduced the margin to five points, 45-40, following a layup by Carl Lamb at the 14:04 mark. Lamb scored 18 points in the second half to finish with 20 points for the game.

ENMU scored the next seven points to increase the lead to 52-40. The Hounds led 54-45 with 10:54 left in the game, then put in 12 unanswered points to complete a 21-5 run. Eastern was in front 66-45 with 8:57 to go.

The Buffs pulled within 11 points, 76-65, following a pair of free throws by Lamb with 3:06 remaining. Jamal Washington (Jr., F, Ontario, CA/Victor Valley College) sank a 3-pointer for ENMU with 2:35 left to give the Hounds a 14-point cushion.

Rod Prater, who led WTAMU in scoring with 22 points, connected on a 3-pointer at the 2:11 mark to cut the margin to 79-68, but the Buffaloes never got closer. Prater made two more 3-pointers in the final 33 seconds to finish 5 of 7 from the behind the arc.

Hunnicutt led four players in double figures for the Greyhounds. Kennis Green (Jr., F, Houston, TX/Blinn College) added 17 points and four rebounds. He was 6 of 9 from the floor, including 2 for 2 on 3-point shots.

Garland Coleman (Sr., G, Chicago, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor HS) contributed 14 points and was 6 of 10 on field goals. Travazz Buckley (Jr., F, Slidell, LA/Faulkner State College) finished with 11 points, despite scoring just two points in the first half, then picking up his third foul with 15:55 remaining in the game.

Washington and Edmound Elzy (Jr., F, Victorville, CA/Barstow CC) each tallied nine points. Irshaun Pinckney (Jr., G, Clovis, NM/Clovis HS) provided seven points, six boards and four assists, while Brent Cooper (Sr., G, Mobile, AL/Faulkner State College) earned five assists.

Jason Campbell scored 17 points to join Prater and Lamb in double figures for West Texas. Campbell hit 7 of 10 field goals and made 3 of 4 free throws. He also led the Buffaloes with eight rebounds. Lamb not only reached 20 points for the night, but also supplied WTAMU with five rebounds and five assists. Prater added four rebounds and three assists.

The Buffaloes shot 47.4% for the game (27 of 57), including 51.5% (17 of 33) in the second half. West Texas sank 7 of 17 three-pointers (41.2% ) and converted 13 of 14 free throws (92.9%).

ENMU is 4-1 against the Buffaloes since the start of the 2001-02 season. The Hounds and Buffaloes will battle each other again next Monday (Feb. 9) in Canyon, Texas. Game time at the WTAMU Event Center is scheduled for 6 p.m. (MST).