PORTALES, N.M. – Holding a slim one-point lead with time winding down in the final 10 seconds of the game, the Tarleton defense forced Eastern New Mexico to take a near-halfcourt heave but the shot fell through to give Tarleton a 70-68 loss in Portales Thursday night.
After Tarleton went into the second half holding onto a three-point lead, the Texans pushed their lead out to eight over the first 12 minutes of the final half. It was a pair of Randall Broddie free throws that pushed the Tarleton lead to eight, but then the Texans would be held to only three free throws and no field goals over the next five minutes of the game while the Greyhounds rallied back for a four-point lead with 3:01 left.
The Greyhounds held their four-point lead for another 30 seconds before Corinthian Ramsey cut the lead in half with a pair of free throws. Tarleton got a steal from Sam Marshall and a defensive rebound from Jesse Hill which led to Hill executing on three of four free throws to put Tarleton on top 68-67 with 17 seconds left on the clock.
Eastern New Mexico called a timeout following the second free throw and out of the break, the Greyhounds heaved up a prayer that found the bottom of the net. The Texans got a look with two seconds on the clock that wouldn’t go down as the final buzzer sounded.
Tarleton had a pair of double-double performances in the game as Hill led the team with a career effort. The senior from Waretown, New Jersey scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds, including a team-best five offensive boards, for his first career double-double. Hill was joined in a double-double effort by Josh Hawley, who scored 19 points and grabbed 11 boards. It was the first time since Nov. 30, 2017 that Tarleton had two double-doubles in the same game (Hawley and Nosa Ebomwonyi at Midwestern State).
Corinthian Ramsey also scored double figures with 14 while Randall Broddie (5), Sam Marshall (3), Preston Enloe (2), Richie Mitchell (2), Clashon Gaffney (2), and Brandon Goldsmith (1) rounded out the scoring for the team.
Tarleton shot .408 from the field for the game, but only managed a .278 shooting clip in the second half, including .111 from beyond the arc on 1-9 shooting.
The Texans will look to get back in the win column with a road test against No. 16 West Texas A&M at the First United Bank Center in Canyon on Saturday at 4 p.m. Links to live stats, video, and the Tarleton radio broadcast on the Tarleton Sports Network presented by North Texas Ford Dealers can be found on the Tarleton Men’s Basketball schedule page at TarletonSports.com.
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