PORTALES, N.M. – In what may be the strangest of finishes in all of college basketball this season, the Cameron Aggies (6-1) took away a 71-69 victory in overtime against Eastern New Mexico (3-4) at Greyhound Arena.
With less than three seconds remaining in the overtime period, Eastern New Mexico’s Gerald Brown drained a two-point jump shot to give the home squad a 69-68 lead.
Brown’s shot set of a raucous celebration and drew team members off the bench and onto the court in celebration.
However, with the clock reading .02 seconds remaining, game officials issued a technical foul on ENMU’s Max Carrier which sent Aggie junior Thomas Razor to the line for two shots.
Razor sank both to give CU a 70-69 edge. On the in-bound, sophomore Vincius Telo was fouled and sent to the line where he picked up one free bucket to ice the game.
“You always hear on ESPN what the analysts think are the right and wrong things to do in tight, late game situations,” said Head Coach Wade Alexander. “And this was one of those situations where everything kept going right for them to get back into the game.”
Lonestar Conference victories are tough to come by,” he added. “Especially on the road, against the teams in this league, they are tough, and we’ll take them any way we can get them.”
For the game, Cameron had four players score in double digits and one player, senior Nathan Murray, posted his second consecutive double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The Aggies and Greyhounds evened out on shooting, going 24-of-65 (36.9-percent) from the field, and in a game that featured a score differential holding in the single digits throughout, every shot was critical.
Two late free throw points from Telo pushed the game into overtime where Cameron trailed by a single point only twice.
The Aggies return home to host Bacone on Dec. 8 before hitting the road once more to take on USAO on Dec. 11. They then return home to greet Lonestar Conference rival Midwestern State on Dec. 13.
Tip off for Bacone is set for 8 p.m. in Aggie Gym and will immediately follow the women’s game.