PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico men’s basketball team will take on Western New Mexico and UT-Permian Basin in their first road conference games of the season.
The Hounds sport a mark of 2-0 in Lone Star Conference play after defeating Midwestern State and Cameron back on Nov. 29 and Dec. 1 inside Greyhound Arena. Eastern New Mexico stands as one of three 2-0 teams entering the weekend in Lone Star Conference play, while UT-Permian Basin and Western New Mexico squared off against each other in their conference openers back on Dec. 8.
LAST TIME OUT
After rattling off four straight wins, Eastern New Mexico came up short against Oklahoma Christian in their last time out by a final score of 72-62, moving the Greyhounds non-conference record to 3-5 for the season. The Hounds were outscored 17-6 in the final five minutes of the game despite briefly taking the lead with 10:19 remaining in the contest.
Junior Darius Sawyer continued to emerge as a scoring mismatch, totaling 15 points and has now totaled 14 points or more in each of the last three games. The Hounds struggled with the size of the Eagles underneath throughout the contest, getting outrebounded 47-to-26 for the game.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
Western New Mexico will enter their third home game of the season Thursday night on a four game losing streak, and are currently 0-1 in conference play after suffering a 101-77 loss to UT-Permian Basin in their only conference match-up of the season. The Mustangs showed fight against #24 nationally ranked and top-regionally ranked St. Edward’s in their most recent action, eventually falling 98-85. Those 85 points for Western serve as a season high for a team that currently ranks ninth in the Lone Star Conference in scoring offense (73.6 ppg).
The senior combo of Jon-Reese Woodson and Willie McCray have combined to provide the majority of the offensive attack throughout the season, as both players average 13.4 points per game and rank ninth and tenth in the LSC in scoring. Western New Mexico has struggled to slow down opposing teams throughout the season, allowing a league-worst 81.8 points per game to their opponents.
HISTORY WITH THE MUSTANGS
Eastern New Mexico and Western New Mexico will write another chapter in the storied in-state rival between the two teams in the 101st meeting between the two programs on Thursday night. The Hounds currently hold the advantage in the series 54-46, and have taken home the victory in four out of the last meetings between the two teams.
The Hounds most recent loss came in the second match-up of the season last year, the first time the Hounds have lost to Western since 2009. That 84-80 defeat will be on Eastern New Mexico’s minds as they look to improve on their 20-27 overall record on the Mustang’s home court.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
After compiling an overall record of 26-7 and a conference record of 14-4 a season ago, UT-Permian Basin has continued to prove as one of the league’s best early in the season, but will enter Saturday’s game on a two game losing streak. The Falcons were dominated on the road 84-67 at Lubbock Christian and then inexplicably lost to NAIA foe Jarvis Christian 98-96 in their most recent game on Dec. 30. UT-Permian Basin will square off with no. 13 West Texas A&M on Thursday night, an opponent that knocked them out of both the Lone Star Conference and NCAA South Central Regional Tournament last year.
The Falcons are 5-1 on their home court this season and have made their living in the paint this season, leading the LSC in rebounding with an average of 41.7 boards per game. That mark has been reached thanks to a balanced rotation, with three players in Xavier Ledet, Adam Rivera, and Maurice Walton all averaging five or more rebounds a game. Junior Jacob Ledoux leads the Falcons with an average of 16.8 points per game and ranks sixth in the league with a field goal percentage of 45.2 percent on the season.
HISTORY WITH THE FALCONS
The Hounds have won just one game in six attempts against UT-Permian Basin, with that lone win coming on the road in Odessa, Texas back on Dec. 13, 2014. Eastern New Mexico has dropped their last four games to the Falcons by double digits, with their most recent defeat coming last year by a final score of 94-77.
LET’S PLAY CATCH UP
Despite their most recent loss to Oklahoma Christian, 2019 looks very promising for Eastern New Mexico as they took care of business in the all-important pre-holiday break weekend series a month ago against Midwestern State and Cameron. The Hounds have continued to climb in the statistical rankings across the board, ranking seventh in the LSC in both scoring offense (36.4 ppg) and scoring defense (37.8 ppg).
Balance has continued to be a point of emphasis for head coach Tres Segler, as Eastern has continued to fluctuate with their rotations and style of attack as different opponents have presented their attacks throughout the year. Eastern has had six different players lead the team in game-high scoringfigures and currently showcases five different players with 85 or more points for the season.
As mentioned earlier, Sawyer has been electric on the offensive side of the ball with three straight double-digit scoring games, while sophomore Devin Pullum has joined senior Zach Parker as the two Greyhounds averaging 10 or more points a contest. Parker ranks fourth in the LSC with an average of 2.0 three point baskets a game, while Pullum has made opponents pay for sending him to the free throw line, shooting a conference-best 88.9 percent from the charity stripe.
GOT TO FIND THE RANGE
With an athletic and rangy team such as the Hounds, the ability to stretch the floor on the offensive side of the ball with the threat of an efficient three-point shooting team can prove invaluable. After shooting three straight games of 40 percent or better from three-point land, the Hounds have now posted back-to-back efforts of 31. 6 percent and 25.0 percent in their two most recent contests.
The league’s top three point-shooting offense in Tarleton State barely averages over 40 percent for the year, but that consistent threat paired with a list of capable driving threats proved to make the Eastern offense nearly unstoppable throughout their four game win streak.
