Hounds sweep Mustangs

Jan. 16—Eastern New Mexico University senior guard Greg Johnson has had a somewhat quiet season — until Saturday, that is.

The Little Rock, Ark. native erupted for a personal-best 39 points, and the Greyhounds erupted late for a 108-91 Lone Star Conference men's victory over Midwestern State at Greyhound Arena.

ENMU (10-4, 6-2 LSC) trailed 71-70 when Johnson put the team ahead for good on a layup with 8:36 left. Sophomore guard Junior Hodnett followed with a 3-pointer as the Hounds finished the game on a 38-20 surge.

Johnson, who came in averaging 11 1/2 points for the season, shot 14-for-19 from the field and 6-for-8 from the 3-point line, making him 20-for-36 (56 percent) in that category for the season. He also went 5-for-5 from the foul line while adding six rebounds and six assists, and on Monday he was named the LSC's player of the week on offense.

Hodnett finished 5-of-6 from distance en route to 17 points, including four 3s after the Mustangs had taken the lead. Junior forward Mario Whitley had a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds while senior guard/forward Jahcoree Ealy added 12 points, six caroms and a season-best eight assists.

ENMU shot 54 percent from the floor, including 13-of-24 from distance, in surpassing the 100-point mark for the seventh time this season. The 13 3-point makes tied a season high.

"When we're shooting it well, we're really hard to beat," Hounds coach Brent Owen said. "We're clicking on offense."

Hodnett, who scored in double figures in a third consecutive game for the first time at ENMU, is shooting 52 percent from long range (33-of-63). The Hounds lead the conference in field goal shooting (51 percent), and they're second in scoring (91.4 ppg) and 3-point shooting (41 percent).

MSU (10-5, 4-5) got 31 points from sophomore guard Mason Gibson and 21 from senior guard Pierre Sanders, both personal bests.

ENMU 65, Midwestern State 61 (women) — After suffering an overtime loss to Cameron two nights earlier, ENMU finally broke through for its first LSC triumph as senior guard/forward Deja Adrian posted her first double-double of the campaign (16 points, 10 rebounds) and made 7-of-8 free throws over the final minute after the Mustangs (4-11, 4-5) had pushed in front 59-58.

Freshman guard Jaz Salon added 14 points for the Hounds (5-9, 1-7), while freshman guard Daci Smith of Roswell had a season-best 11 points in 20 minutes and junior forward Ishuana Hunter added 10.

MSU, which came in with four victories in its previous five tilts after an 0-9 start, used an 11-0 run that carried into the first minute of the second frame for a 20-11 advantage. ENMU countered with an 18-1 blitz and carried a 32-23 margin into halftime, outscoring the Mustangs 21-5 for the quarter.

Late in the third period, the Hounds opened a 51-36 cushion, but Midwestern rallied back to inch ahead with under 1 1/2 minutes remaining.

"I thought we responded well and had some players step up today," first-year ENMU women's coach Blake Huber said. "Daci played great, and Jaz responded from Thursday coming off the bench.

"It was a valiant effort for our group, and I'm super-proud of them to get the win. Hopefully, we can carry it into next week."

Junior forward Zarria Carter 31 points for MSU, while senior forward/guard Kertisa Amos added 15.

ENMU squads are at home again this week, hosting Lubbock Christian on Thursday night and West Texas A&M on Saturday.