Greyhounds Slip Past Tigers In Low-Scoring LSC Crossover Win
ENMU Ends Game with 12-0 Run

PORTALES, NM — Eastern New Mexico University scored the game’s final 12 points to overcome the slowdown strategy of East Central University and take a 50-41 victory over the Tigers in a Lone Star Conference crossover game, Jan. 5 at Greyhound Arena. ENMU upped its record to 9-3 with the win, while ECU fell to 5-7 with the loss.

East Central chose to slow the game down, taking more than 25 seconds off the shot clock on nearly every possession. The Tigers, who lost at West Texas A&M University, 78-33, on Saturday (Jan. 3), led 41-38 with 4:38 remaining, but did not score the rest of the game.

Irshaun Pinckney (Jr., G, Clovis, NM/Clovis HS) and Kennis Green (Jr., G, Houston, TX/Blinn College) combined for all 12 points in Eastern’s game-ending run. Pinckney started the offensive surge with a rebound and layup at the 4:20 mark. Green provided ENMU with the lead at 43-41, when he sank all three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point shot with 3:39 left.

Green increased the lead to 46-41 on a 3-point basket with 2:50 remaining. Pinckney ended the scoring by hitting four free throws on four attempts after sustaining two fouls by Juan Avila at the 2:12 mark. Avila was called for both a regular foul and a flagrant foul on the play.

In the first half, both teams led by as many as four points, but neither was able to pull away. ENMU led 24-20 at the 3:45 mark. East Central scored the final five points of the half for a 25-24 lead at the intermission.

East Central hit the first basket of the second half for a 27-24 lead, but ENMU scored the next eight points. The Greyhounds led 32-27 following a basket by Garland Coleman (Sr., G, Chicago, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor HS) with 13:39 left. ECU countered with a 7-1 run to take a 34-33 advantage with 10:29 remaining.

The score stayed close until ENMU pulled away in the final three minutes. There were 14 lead changes and seven ties during the game, including seven lead changes and three ties in the second half.

ECU’s top player, senior guard Jason Wilkerson, played 37 minutes despite bruising several ribs in a mid-court collision at West Texas A&M. He scored 10 points and grabbed six boards, but his two free throws that tied the game, 38-38, with 6:05 left, were his only points of the second half. He was 0 for 6 on field goals in the final 20 minutes.

Darren Randall led ECU in scoring, with 17 points on 8 of 11 field goals and 1 for 1 at the line. Randall and Wilkerson were the only Tigers with more than four points on the night.

After Wilkerson’s free throws tied the game, ECU moved in front, 40-38, on a layup by Randall with 5:18 on the clock. Greg Nash sank 1 of 2 free throws with 4:36 left to give the Tigers a three-point lead.

Eastern placed three players in double figures, led by Green with 13 points. Coleman added 11 points and Pinckney contributed 10 points.

The Greyhounds earned a 31-27 rebounding margin, with Travazz Buckley (Jr., F, Slidell, LA/Faulkner State College) leading the way with six boards. Jamaal Hunnicutt (Jr., F, Amarillo, TX/Hill JC) grabbed five rebounds and Pinckney hauled down four rebounds. Senior point guard Brent Cooper (Mobile, AL/Faulkner State College) led all players with four assists.

ENMU has won seven games in a row. The Greyhounds will return to action on Thursday, Jan. 8, at Cameron University. Tipoff in Lawton, Okla., is scheduled for 7 p.m. (MST). Last year, ENMU defeated Cameron, 72-62, at Greyhound Arena.