Heartbreak Hounds drop a thriller to Rams, Nelson scores 31
By: Jonathan Miller
Issue date: 2/1/10 Section: Sports
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Unfortunately for Eastern this time around, the bleeding came on the defensive side of the ball.
Despite a 31-point effort from guard Reggie Nelson (Jr., Tyler, Texas/Tyler JC) the Hounds couldn't overcome a 57-point first half from ASU as they dropped another closely contested LSC game, 92-88.
"We didn't play very good defensively in the first half," ENMU head coach Andrew Helton said.
The Greyhounds had little trouble scoring against Angelo State's defense, but couldn't seem to stop the ASU guard tandem of LaMarshall Corbett and Derrick Webster.
Corbett (Jr., Reidsville, N.C./Kilgore JC) and Webster (Sr., Montgomery, Ala. /Enterprise CC) paced the Rams with 12 and 13 points respectively while ASU connected on 21 out of 34 first half field goals.
"In the first half, we struggled," Nelson said.
But much like last weekend's MSU game, the Hounds found a way to keep within striking distance. Tralyn Harden (So., Itasca, TX/McClennan CC) hit three consecutive 3-pointers in a one minute span, and Eastern was down by only nine points at the end of the first half.
"(Tralyn) gave us some big minutes," Helton said. "He kept the game manageable in the first half."
And in what seems to be a consistent theme with them, the Hounds again came out swinging in the second half.
ENMU went on a 10-1 run out of the locker room and tied the game at 58 at the 16:37 mark. Nelson had six of those 10 points.
"We got into it in the second half," he said.
However, the second half also got the Greyhounds into serious foul trouble.
In what could be described as a very tightly officiated contest, ENMU's leading scorer and rebounder Tyler Jefferson (Jr., F, Fort Worth, Texas/Tyler JC) picked up his fourth personal foul just three minutes into the second half and was forced to spend much of the remainder of it on the bench. 60 personal and four technical fouls were called during the game, and the Hounds saw four players foul out including Jefferson, center Tommy York (Jr., Lampassas, Texas/Ranger JC), forward Michael Brown (Fr., Houston, TX/Westfield HS) and starting guard Jimmie Marshall (Sr., Milwaukee, WI/Iowa Lakes CC).
The foul trouble left Eastern severely depleted at the post position.
"In the second half we played well, it was just that they out-rebounded us," Nelson said.
Statistically, ENMU outplayed Angelo in the every major category except rebounding.
Despite Eastern's foul trouble, they overcame another 7-point Angelo State lead and held an 84-80 advantage with 5:25 left in the contest.
An old-fashioned 3-point play by Corbett however sparked a 7-0 Angelo run that would ultimately put the game away for the Rams.
The Hounds missed their final five shots from the field and a free throw by Rams forward Shavar Burch (Sr., New York, NY/San Jacinto Central) with one second left on the clock put the game out of reach.
While the Greyhounds again showed their relentless grit and determination, the loss is their third straight in the LSC South and leaves them three games behind division leader Tarleton State.
"I don't want them to accept what happened tonight," Helton said.
The glaring bright spots for the Hounds came in the form of their outstanding second half defense and the explosive play of Nelson.
In addition to his 31 points, Nelson recorded seven rebounds, five assists and a steal and hit 13 of 14 from the free throw line while the defense allowed only 35 second-half ASU points.
"I'm very proud of what Reggie did; he played his butt off," Helton said.
While Nelson is the first Greyhound player to record over 30 points in a game since Justin Redman-Trotter in Feb. of 2008, he'll tell you he'd have much rather recorded an Eastern victory.
"I'm a team player, I just want to win," he said.
Nelson received help from forward Victor Reid (Jr., El Paso, Texas/Cochise Community College) who had 16 points and five rebounds and Jefferson, who tallied 12 points and two rebounds.
ASU's Corbett, who came into the game averaging almost 24 points per game, had 27 points while Webster added 16 points and three rebounds.
The loss drops ENMU to 2-3 in LSC South play and makes this week's home matchup with rival West Texas A&M even bigger.
"Obviously, Wednesday night's is a very important game for us," Helton said.
If they want to remain in the thick of the division race, Eastern will have to improve its defensive play against a Buffs team that is averaging 45 percent from the field on the season.
WTA&MU, also 2-3 in LSC South play is on a three game losing streak of their own and coming off of a loss to Angelo State.
Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. Wednesday night at Greyhound Arena.