Men Hang Tough for Win

January 5, 2009

PORTALES, N.M. - Southwestern Oklahoma State University took apart Eastern New Mexico University down the stretch and pulled away with an important 79-74 men's basketball victory Monday on the road.

The victory improved SWOSU to 9-4 on the season and sets up a showdown with Lone Star Conference South Division favorite Tarleton State University Thursday in Weatherford. The men's game will have a special start time beginning at 4 p.m.

Kenneth White had 24 points and Jerard Campbell added 23 as the Bulldogs won their fourth straight meeting against the Greyhounds. ENMU, which was led by Equs Darby with 23 points, fell to 4-10 on the year.

The Bulldogs led from start to finish but were not without a few tense moments down the stretch. SWOSU let a 15-point lead melt away in the early portion of the second half as ENMU went on a 18-3 run over a five-minute span. Darby's jumper tied the game at 46-46 with 12:57 to play.

SWOSU ended ENMU's run at that point and got themselves back in front by a comfortable margin. White and Abdullah Lawal canned back-to-back three pointers to push the Bulldogs' lead to 59-50 with 9:24 to play.

The Greyhounds did get within two points later when Gerald Brown scored to cut SWOSU's cushion to 65-63 with 5:47 to play. White again answered with a big three-pointer and Campbell scored twice underneath to keep the Greyhounds at bey.

SWOSU helped its cause considerably again by its long-range marksmanship. The Bulldogs connected on 15-of-24 three-point attempts for 62% while ENMU was just two-of-12 (17%) from the same distance.

Both teams shot the ball well with SWOSU connecting on 26-of-44 shots for 59% while ENMU was 58% making 33-of-57 attempts. The Bulldogs visited the free throw line 10 more times than the Greyhounds and outscored them by that margin from the stripe.

Kendall Smith had 12 points and Jose Garcia added 10 to complete SWOSU's double-figure scorers.