PORTALES, New Mexico (Feb. 22, 2012) ¬¬— Cameron lost a heartbreaker Wednesday night to Eastern New Mexico, falling in overtime 72-64.

The Aggies (15-9, 11-8) fought hard throughout the game and came within seven seconds of winning the game in regulation, but Eastern New Mexico (10-15, 8-11) had Cameron’s number in overtime. The Zias outscored CU 15-7 in the extra frame to take the conference contest, despite Cameron pulling ahead by four early in the period.

“We got a lead in overtime and then broke down defensively,” said Head Coach Tom Webb. “It’s late in the year … if we learn from this game, it’s a great teacher. If we don’t learn anything, it will be frustrating.”

Coming out of halftime CU trailed 27-17, but the Black and Gold pushed the pace and turned up the defense in the second half to fight its way back into the game. Cameron held the Zias scoreless for a five minute stretch early in the second half to pull within two at 37-35 with 12 minutes left. The teams remained within four points of each other for the rest of the game, as neither team was able to put away their opponent. The Aggies had a chance late, going up two with 22 seconds left, the Zias were able to convert and send the game into overtime.

“At the end of the day … we defended with urgency (in the second half),” Webb said. “When we do that, we are pretty good. But when we don’t we’re not very good. It all comes down to communication and a since of urgency.”

The Zias came out fast, pulling ahead 7-0 early in the half. It wasn’t until the 15-mintue mark when Cameron made its first bucket on a jumper by the reigning Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week, Sabelle Diata. ENM continued to keep its foot on the gas, driving its lead up to 14 at 17-3 with 10:48 left. But from there, the Aggies took over. CU outscored the home team 18-8 during the final 10 minutes to pull within six at half.

Alexis Williams led Cameron with 29 points on the night, while Sabelle Diata added her 12th double-double this season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Julie Paunovic was the only other Aggie in double figures with 11 points.

The loss tonight marks Cameron’s second consecutive overtime road loss, following a 79-74 double overtime loss to Incarnate Word in their last game. But the Aggies will have an opportunity to end the season on a high note Saturday, as they close out conference play with a battle against West Texas A&M (17-8, 15-4) at 2 p.m. in the Aggie Gym. Cameron defeated the Buffs 60-56 in Canyon earlier this season.

“It’s frustrating (to lose close games),” Webb said. “You can look at the positives … yea we played close, but at the end of the day we believe we are a good basketball team. Great teams execute and win close games on the road. It we want to be great, we’ve got to do that. Everyone is neutral in Allen, though. At least we won’t have to worry about that.”