DURANGO, Colo. – Eastern New Mexico men’s basketball was able to mount another second half run, but the comeback effort came too late as the Hounds fell to Fort Lewis 90-85 Sunday night in game two of the LSC/RMAC Conference Challenge
The two squads would trade buckets early before the Skyhawks were able to push their lead to 13 points. The Hounds role players came up big in the first half as Eastern’s bench was responsible for 27 points highlighted by junior forward Jose Serano who dropped 14 of his team-high 20 points in the opening frame.
The Hounds seemed revitalized coming out of the break despite trailing by ten points and went on a 16-6 run to begin the second half sparked by a highlight-reel dunk from junior forward Marvin Mapaga. The Gabon, Africa native was fed the ball on the low block before stepping through his defender and throwing down a massive dunk in traffic, drawing a foul. Mapaga buried his free throw attempt seconds after to cap off the three-point play.
With fifteen minutes remaining in the contest, junior guard Devin Pullum knocked down a three-pointer from NBA range to tie the ball game at 51-51. The Hounds shot 60 percent from beyond the arch in the second half and were able to keep the game close unfortunately, Eastern failed to generate a lead as FLC would convert at the charity stripe to ice the game late.
Serrano’s 20 points came on a 7-for-11 shooting night while Mapaga finished with 11 points and five rebounds. Senior guard Isaiah Murphy also scored 11 points and swiped a game-high three steals. Pullum tallied eight points and created fantastic opportunities for his teammates as he totaled a career-high nine assists.
The Hounds will look to tighten up their play next Friday when they travel to El Paso, Texas to face Division I opponent UTEP in an exhibition contest before beginning the grind of LSC play the following week.
