Hunnicutt Provides 23 Points and 12 Rebounds,
as Greyhounds Pound Wildcats, 89-72
Rodriguez Adds Career-High 20 Points; Wallace Earns 18 Points, Eight Assists;
Rasul Scores 30 Points (28 in Second Half) for ACU

Box Score

PORTALES, N.M. — Senior forward Jamaal Hunnicutt (Amarillo, TX/Hill JC) provided a double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds, to go with seven assists and six steals, as he led Eastern New Mexico University to an 89-72 win over Abilene Christian University, in a Lone Star Conference game, Thursday, Feb. 3 at Greyhound Arena. The Greyhounds upped their record to 8-12, while improving to 1-4 in the LSC South. ACU fell to 8-13 overall, 1-5 in the LSC South.

Hunnicutt already had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds when the teams left the court at halftime. The Greyhounds also were well on their way to victory , as 55.6% shooting (20 of 36, 5 of 8 three-pointers), a 21-15 rebounding edge and solid defense gave ENMU a 47-23 lead at the break.

Abilene Christian shot just 37.0% in the first half (10 of 27). Hakim Rasul, who entered the game averaging 25.7 points per game, had just two points at the half, but finished the game with 30 points to lead ACU.

Hunnicutt was not alone in having a stellar night for the Greyhounds. Walk-on guard Aaron Rodriguez (So., Roswell, NM/Briar Cliff University) scored a career-high 20 points, and was the player primarily responsible for holding David Baxter of ACU to just 15 points. Baxter began the game averaging 20.9 points this season. Junior guard Reggie Wallace (Pasadena, CA/Mt. San Antonio College) contributed 18 points, eight assists and five rebounds for ENMU.

Jolen Montoya (Jr., G, Cordova, NM/Neosho County CC) tacked on 15 points. Edmound Elzy (Sr., F, Victorville, CA/Barstow CC) tallied four points and grabbed six rebounds in just 14 minutes on the court.

The Greyhounds trailed 2-0 and 8-6 early in the game, but tied the score at 8-8 on a layup by Hunnicutt with 15:59 remaining in the half. Rodriguez earned his first two points on a jumper just over a minute later for a 10-8 lead. The baskets by Hunnicutt and Rodriguez started a 15-4 run for the Hounds, who led 23-12 after Wallace cashed in a layup with 10:20 on the clock.

ACU pulled back within eight points twice during the half, including 28-20 at the 6:55 mark. Eastern closed the stanza with a 19-3 run to take command of the game.

Eastern remained in front by at least 20 points for much of the second half, with the Hounds claiming their largest lead at 66-34 with 13:47 left. ACU countered with a 16-0 run, as ENMU went scoreless for just over three and a half minutes. Rasul scored nine points during ACU’s surge, including a free throw to complete the run. The lead was down to 66-50 before Wallace sank a 3-pointer for Eastern at the 10:15 mark.

The lead expanded back to 22 points, 80-58, following a free throw by Chad Donnell (So., F, Frankston, TX/Frankston HS) with 6:13 remaining. The Wildcats never got closer than 18 points the rest of the way, until Baxter scored the game’s final basket with 17 seconds left.

Baxter’s 15 points allowed him to tie Mario Matai for second place on ACU’s scoring chart behind Rasul’s 30-point effort. Matai also supplied the Wildcats with 11 rebounds and three steals. Joe Carr earned 10 points, produced six assists and registered three steals.

Rasul connected on 11 of 13 field goals in the second half for ACU, helping the Wildcats shoot 58.1% (18 of 31) over the final 20 minutes. The Wildcats also converted 11 of 12 free throws in the second half (91.7%), but Eastern sank 20 of 26 charity shots during the period to keep ACU at bay.

The Greyhounds were 7 of 10 from three-point range for the night, led by Rodriguez, who went 3 for 3. Abilene Christian struggled from behind the arc, hitting just 2 of 15 shots, including 2 of 12 in the second half. ENMU also gained an edge in controlling the ball, as ACU committed 22 turnovers, compared to just 15 turnovers for the Hounds.

Eastern remains at home for another LSC South game on Saturday, Feb. 5, when the Angelo State University Rams arrive at Greyhound Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. (MST).