The Eastern New Mexico University men’s basketball team shot a season-high .524 from three-point range and withstood a furious rally to pick up a crucial Lone Star Conference victory, Saturday evening at Greyhound Arena. Zach Parker scored eight of his team-high 17 points over the final 4:32 of play in the Greyhounds’ (8-10; LSC 3-6) 92-89 win over Angelo State (13-5; LSC 5-4). The contest was sponsored by Pizza Hut/Taco Villa.

The win was ENMU’s fourth in the last six games, with the tight margin of victory falling at an average of 83-79 points per game.

I am so grateful to all the awesome fans that supported the Greyhounds today,” Head Coach Tres Segler said. “They stuck with us the whole time, and I am so proud to share this win with the ENMU fans and community.”

“Tonight’s game was an emotional one because of our heartbreaking loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville on Thursday,” Segler added. “I was so proud of our guys for bonding together and finding the resolve to win together. Maurice Coleman was tough tonight, and I thought he battled through adversity to ultimately help us win. Zach Parker truly competed like a warrior, and I am so excited for his continued growth as a player and a leader in our program. Isaac Maldonado was also crucial to this win, and his sustained minutes kept our team going. His dunk was one of my favorite plays of the night, and it got the whole arena jumping. Jamani Pierce rebounded it so well tonight, and I am proud of how he outworked some really athletic and gifted bigs. Nick Brown and Shawn Shelton made so many plays that won’t show up on the stat sheet, but our team knows that we needed all of them to win. Andre Hughes woke up tonight too, and our whole team was so excited for him! Angelo State is a great program, and they will win many more games in the league. I am excited for our guys tonight, and I am grateful for all those folks that came out and supported Greyhound Nation.”

Inside the Series
The win was the Hounds’ second straight in the series and improved them to 34-40 against ASU with an 18-18 mark at home
Prior to the two-game win streak, Angelo State had picked up six straight wins in the series

Outside the Box Score
The game marked the third time ENMU shot at least 50 percent from the floor this season, and the team is 2-1 in those gams
The contest also was the third time in the last five contests where the Hounds finished with the rebounding advantage

The Key Runs
The Hounds scored first on a Jamani Pierce jumper and surged to an 18-5 lead on a trey from Pierce with 12:35 left in the first half
ENMU led by as many as 15 in the first half and held a 36-23 advantage with 4:20 on the clock after an Isaac Maldonado free throw
The Rams’ Davion Cole-Johnson capped a 19-8 run with a trey as time expired in the opening half to cut ASU’s deficit to 44-42 at intermission
After an exchange of baskets to open the second half, the Rams pulled even on Cole-Johnson’s dunk with 17:43 to play
Eastern responded with a 23-7 run over the ensuing 7:48, which was fueled by six points form Pierce
The Hounds led 83-70 with 4:32 to play after a Zach Parker trey
Angelo State used a 17-5 run to close within a single point, but were unable to take their first lead of the game

In the Numbers
ENMU held a 42-35 edge in rebounding which led to a 21-14 lead in second-chance points
The Rams held a 28-15 advantage in points off turnovers
The Hounds outshot ASU 50.8 percent to 39.4 percent
Pierce registered his first double double for the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds
Maurice Coleman poured in 16 points, dished out six assists and had three steals
Lamarquis Thompson added 11 points
Nick Brown chipped in 10 points and seven boards
Antonio Singleton paced ASU with 33 points

Up Next
The Eastern New Mexico University men’s basketball team will return to action next Thursday, when they visit West Texas A&M
Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. MT
Players Mentioned