Championship Central

By NICK EATMAN

            FRISCO, Texas – The wait is over for Eastern New Mexico.
            Thanks to Lyron Bennett’s 27-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer, the Greyhounds have won their first LSC Championship title in 31 years. Bennett’s clutch shot capped a wild 9-0 run for ENMU in the final two minutes to rally past LCU for the 91-88 win at Comerica Center.
            LCU seemed in control with an 88-82 lead with 45 seconds but that’s when the Greyhounds dug in one last time in what was easily the most intense game of the tournament.
            Jahcoree Ealy, who was named MVP of the tourney, started the run with a 3-point play to cut the Chaps’ lead in half. LCU, without any timeouts, had trouble getting the ball inbounds and when they did, were harassed by the Greyhounds’ press. A couple of turnovers led to steals, one was converted into a basket by Greg Johnson with 26 seconds left. On the next possession, ENMU got another steal and Ealy drove into the paint and drew a foul. After making just one free throw to tie the game, LCU came back and seemingly had one last shot for the win.
            But Najeeb Muhammad drove the lane and put up a shot that missed off the backboard. ENMU’s Mario Whitely got the rebound with four seconds left and found Bennett on the wing. He quickly dribbled into the front-court and pulled up for the 3-point shot, which went through the net at the buzzer. The refs reviewed the play quickly but promptly awarded the basket, giving ENMU its first tournament win since 1993 and the second in school history.
            Ealy scored a game-high 22 points and was named MVP for his tournament-leading 62 points in the three wins. Greg Johnson had 18 points to join Ealy on the team, along with Bennett, who finished with 12 points and eight rebounds in the game.
            The Greyhounds won the automatic berth to the NCAA regional tournament and likely will be joined by LCU, despite the heartbreaking defeat.
            Ethan Duncan carried the Chaps for three days and led his team with 22 points. He was named to the all-tournament team along with teammate Kurt Wegscheider, who posted 18 points and six rebounds.
             
LSC Championship All-Tournament Team
Jahcoree Ealy, Eastern New Mexico (MVP)
Greg Johnson, Eastern New Mexico
Lyron Bennett, Eastern New Mexico
Ethan Duncan, Lubbock Christian
Kurt Wegscheider, Lubbock Christian

ENMU Notes: 

• The Greyhounds had not even made a tournament final since 1993 when they beat Texas A&M-Kingsville for the school’s first-ever LSC Championship. 
• The 285 total points scored over three games for ENMU was the most since 2016 when Midwestern State scored 288. 
• ENMU becomes the first school outside of Texas to win the tournament since Central Oklahoma won it in 2011 in Bartlesville. The Greyhounds are the first team to win outside of their home state since Midwestern State in 2010 in Bartlesville. 
• With 91 points scored on Sunday, ENMU is now 18-0 when scoring over 90 points in a game. 
• The Greyhounds led the LSC in the regular season in blocked shots, averaging 4.57 per game and had eight in the final against LCU Sunday. 
• ENMU’s two best scorers were just a little better than their season average as Ealy (20.7 ppg) scored 21 and Johnson (17.8) scored 18. 

 
LCU Notes:

• LCU played in the school’s first LSC Championship final on the men’s side. 
• The Chaps led the LSC in field goal percentage this year at .499 in the regular season and made 49.3 percent of their shots on Sunday.
• Ethan Duncan, the conference leader in 3-pointer made per game at 3.3, made just 2 of 7 attempts. 
• The Chaps ranked last in the conference in rebounds at 31 per game but had only 26 Sunday, getting out-rebounded 36-26.