Eastern New Mexico outlasted Wayne State 89-86 in double overtime Saturday at the Pak A Sak Thanksgiving Men’s Basketball Classic in Canyon, Texas.
After trailing 10-5 early, Wayne State went on a 15-3 run to take a 20-13 lead after a Brian Goodwin jumper with 7:25 to go in the opening half. Eastern New Mexico got within four at 22-18, but Wayne State closed the half strong and held a 32-22 lead at intermission.
Wayne State pushed the lead to 15 early in the second half at 40-25 on a Goodwin 3-pointer with 17:51 to play, but Eastern New Mexico rallied and took their first lead since early in the game at 51-49 with 7:31 to go.
The Wildcats battled back and held a five-point lead at 65-60 after two Matt Thomas free throws with 2:22 to go, but the Greyhounds came back and hit four free throws in the final 1:18 to tie the game at 65-65 and sent it into overtime.
Neither team led by more than three in the first overtime. Wayne State took a 72-69 lead on an Austin Esters layup with 1:54 to go, but the Greyhounds used a Chris Wyms three-point play and two free throws from Neal to take a 74-72 lead.
Eastern New Mexico’s Andre Hughes made one of two free throws with one second left for a 77-74 Greyhound lead, but Wayne State’s Vance Janssen drained a trey at the buzzer to send it to a second extra period.
Wayne State never led in the second overtime as the Greyhounds built an 86-80 advantage with one minute to play. A Matt Thomas 3-pointer with :06 left got Wayne State within one at 87-86. Wyms made two free throws with four seconds to play for an 89-86 lead and a Wayne State 3-pointer by Thomas to send the game into a third overtime was off the mark as the Greyhounds hung on for the win.
Six Wayne State players reached double figures, led by Goodwin with 19 points. Cornelius added 13 points and a career-high 14 rebounds for his first double-double of the season while Kendall Jacks also produced 13 points. Janssen, Thomas and Esters each accounted for 11 points.
Cornell Neal led ENMU with 29 points followed by Wyms with 18. Andre Hughes had 11 points and 11 rebounds with Shawn Shelton adding 10 points.
Luke TerHark had a career-high seven assists with Thomas adding six while Janssen had three steals. Freshman Tony Bonner had three of Wayne State’s four blocked shots.
Wayne State (1-4) will be on the road Monday, visiting in-state rival Nebraska-Kearney for a 7 p.m. matchup.
