LAST TIME OUT
The Hounds split a pair of games at the Ed Messbarger Classic hosted by Angelo State on Friday and Saturday. Eastern opened the event with an 85-68 loss to St. Edward’s on Friday, but bounced back with a big 88-60 victory over Jarvis Christian on Saturday.
In the St. Edward’s game, the Hounds contested the Hilltoppers, trailing by just two at 43-41 going into the halftime break. However, after the Hounds tied the game up at 47 on a Maurice Coleman three-pointer in the second half, the Hilltoppers went on an 18-0 run to take control of the game.
Three ENMU players reached double-figures in the contest, as Devin Pullum led all scorers off the bench with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting and went 3-for-6 from the three-point arc. Darius Sawyer added 12 points on 3-of-7 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe, while Chukuka Emili recorded his second double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds to go with two blocked shots.
Against Jarvis Christian, Eastern got off to a strong start in the first half, as the Hounds outshot the Bulldogs by a 53-to-14 percent margin from the floor, a 46-to-0 percent margin from the three-point arc, and forced Jarvis Christian into committing 16 turnovers to take a 48-9 lead into the halftime break. Eastern took its largest lead of the game with 9:06 to go in the second half on an Emili dunk off a Coleman assist to make it a 72-29 advantage.
Four Greyhounds reached double-figures in the contest, led by Zach Parker with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 2-of-4 from three-point range. Isaiah Murphy chipped in 13 points on 5-of-8 from the floor, while Deng Kuany and Mangistu Jongkor each added 10 points apiece.
SCOUTING THE MINERS
UTEP enters the contest with a 1-2 record overall, picking up a 90-63 season-opening victory over ENMU’s Lone Star Conference rival UT-Permian Basin on Nov. 6 before dropping a 96-69 contest at New Mexico State and a 79-46 decision at Arizona last week.
The Miners are led in scoring by sophomore guard Evan Gilyard, who is averaging 17.7 points per game, shooting a blistering 9-of-18 from the three-point arc and tops the team with 10 assists. Efe Odigie ranks second on the team with 16.3 ppg and is the team’s top rebounder, averaging 8.3 per game. Paul Thomas is the team’s last double-digit scorer with 11.3 ppg.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
The New Mexico State Aggies come into the week with a 3-1 record, coming off a stunning 98-94 upset win over New Mexico on Saturday.
The Aggies feature a balanced scoring attack that features seven players averaging six or more points per game. Leading all scorers is junior guard A.J. Harris, turning in 14.8 points per game on a blistering 51-percent shooting from the floor and has converted on 7-of-16 shots from the three-point arc. Terrell Brown is the only other Aggie averaging double-figures, scoring 12.8 ppg on 41-percent shooting and has converted on a team-leading 19-of-27 attempts from the free throw line.
TALE OF TWO HALVES
Despite the Hounds playing great basketball in the first half, ENMU is looking to shore up its second half struggles thus far. Eastern is outscoring opponents by a 165-127 margin in the first half and have only trailed once at halftime, that being a two-point margin to St. Edward’s. However, the Hounds have been outscored by all of their opponents in the second half through the first four games by an overall 187-141 margin.
BALANCING ACT
Through the first four games, the Hounds have six players averaging six or more points per game. Eastern has also had a different leading scorer in all four games this season, with Emili scoring 21 against Fort Lewis, Murphy notching 17 versus New Mexico Highlands, Pullum recording 16 in the St. Edward’s game and Parker turning in 14 against Jarvis Christian.
PULLUM UP TO THE FREE THROW LINE
Pullum, the sophomore guard from Little Elm, Texas, has been putting in a lot of work from the free throw line for the Hounds. Currently, Pullum leads the team in both makes (15) and attempts (17) while shooting a blistering 88-percent from the stripe, the highest percentage of those who have taken more than five attempts on the team. Pullum scored all seven of his points from the line against the Bulldogs, converted on 7-of-8 attempts.
