LAWTON, Okla. – The Cameron men's basketball team lost in an overtime thriller to Eastern New Mexico on Saturday, 81-73. The loss moves CU to 16-11 on the season and 9-8 in Lone Star Conference play, while ENMU is now 12-14 overall and 6-10 in league play.
The Aggies got off to a fast start, building up an early 16-5 lead at the 16:04 mark. The Greyhounds cut that lead to one with a 10-0 run, making it 16-15 with 11:03 left in the half. CU held a solid lead throughout the rest of the half and led 37-34 at the break. Cameron shot almost 40 percent in the first half, going 6-13 from three and 5-9 from the foul line.
Delvonte Pierre had 17 points at the break for the black and gold.
A 14-3 run to start the second half from ENMU, gave them their first lead of the game, 47-40 at the 13:54 mark. After back and forth buckets from both teams, Pierre made another three pointer to take back a one point lead with 8:46 left to play. The teams traded scores throughout the last few minutes with two lead changes and two ties.
JV Long then drove to the basket and laid in a score to put CU up 70-68 with 47 seconds left. Joe Clarke then converted a pair of free throws 40 seconds left to tie the game at 70, and give CU a chance to win it with just over six seconds left. Long drove down the court and tried a turn-around jumper from 18 feet that bounced off the rim forcing five minutes of extra time.
In overtime, a
Trey Hall layup gave CU the first lead of extra time, but that would be their last field goal of the half, as they went 1-12 from the field in overtime. ENMU went on an 11-1 run in the final four minutes to get the 81-73 win.
Cameron shot just 38.8 percent from the field, 34.5 percent from the perimeter, and hit just 11-19 from the free throw line. Pierre finished with a career high 31 points, going 7-12 from three point range. Long finished with 19 points, and six assists, while
Tyus Momoh chipped in 10.
The Greyhounds shot 40 percent from the field, while hitting just 20 percent of their shots from deep. However, they went to the line 46 times and converted on 78.3 percent of those. Clarke had a team-high 20 points, while Lamarquis Thompson chipped in 17 points and 15 rebounds.
Cameron will conclude their regular season on Tuesday, Feb. 21 as they host rival Midwestern State in the Aggie Gym, starting at approximately 7:30.
