The Eastern New Mexico men’s basketball team picked up the program’s first ever win at home against UT-Permian Basin on Thursday night by a final score of 83-66.
The Hounds limited the Lone Star Conference’s top offensive team to their second-lowest point total in conference play with just 66 points on the evening. Eastern New Mexico also dominated on the glass in a game presented by San Juan Village, outrebounding the Falcons by a final total of 37-to-31, including 13 boards from senior Chukuka Emili, who recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 16 points.
Emili forced five of the Hound’s 20 turnovers with three steals and two blocks to help solidify a relentless defense throughout the evening for Eastern New Mexico. UT-Permian Basin entered the game with the 15th best scoring offense in all of Division II basketball, but were consistently pressed and harassed by the Hounds, making just 3-of-18 shots from behind the three-point line for the game.
Eastern New Mexico rode that defensive effort deep into the ball game before finally pulling away in the final five minutes of the contest. Overall the Hounds led for just over 35 minutes of the contest, but used seven straight points beginning at the 14:32 mark of the second half to start their dominate final 10 minutes of basketball.
That seven-point run pushed the Hounds ahead 58-49 before UT-Permian Basin looked as if they were going to hang around and make things interesting, narrowing the disadvantage to just eight points with a lay-up at the 7:00 mark to bring the score to 67-59. A dunk from Emili and then a quick three-point basket from junior Isaiah Murphy pushed the lead back out to double digits less than two minutes later at 72-59.
The Falcons answered with two buckets of their own and called a timeout with 3:13 remaining on the clock in an attempt to find a way back into the game down 72-62, but another seven unanswered points by the Hounds, capped off by a highlight-reel dunk by junior Darius Sawyer, pushed the lead to 17 and sealed just the second win over the Falcons in school history for Eastern New Mexico.
Senior Zach Parker continued to light up the score board early, totaling 12 points in the first half alone to lead the Hounds to a 41-35 halftime advantage. Parker finished with 17 points on the night to lead all scorers in the game while sophomore Devin Pullum finished the game with 12 points.
Eastern New Mexico put pressure on the Falcons defense throughout the game, forcing 22 foul calls on UT-Permian Basin, and converted 23-of-30 attempts from the free-throw line for the contest.
The win increased the Hound’s lead over UT-Permian Basin in the conference standings, as Eastern now sits in sixth place with a record of 6-6, while UT-Permian Basin sits in seventh place with a record of 4-7. Texas A&M-Kingsville sits half a game ahead of the Hounds in fifth place with a record of 6-5 having played one less conference game than Eastern.
Eastern New Mexico will have a good chance to overtake Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday afternoon as they take on a Western New Mexico squad that is just 1-10 in conference play. That contest is schedule for a 4 p.m. tip-off and will feature a celebration of the “Harry Miller Era” at halftime that will recognize a golden-age of basketball for Eastern New Mexico.
