Men Win Fifth Straight, Beat ENMU

December 1, 2006

PORTALES, N.M. – Newcomer Nate Perry scored 26 points and Southwestern Oklahoma State University extended its win streak to five straight with an 85-70 victory over Eastern New Mexico in a men’s basketball contest Thursday.

Perry, a 6-6 transfer from Arizona’s Mesa Community College, connected on nine-of-18 shots from the field and made all eight of his free throws for the undefeated Bulldogs. He was joined in double figure scoring by teammate Reggie Gunn with 17 points.

ENMU, which dropped to 2-4, was led by Mikkal Monett with 24 points.

SWOSU, under first-year coach Todd Thurman, has now beaten all five of its opponents by 14 or more points while averaging more than 86 points a contest.

The Greyhounds stayed at the Bulldogs heels for much of the game and drew to 64-59 with 5:35 to play. SWOSU answered when Abdualah Lawal made a short jumper in the paint and Perry followed with a pair of free throws to push the margin back to nine points.

The Bulldogs managed just 38% shooting from the field, their lowest output of the year, but cranked up their defense and forced the Greyhounds into 27 turnovers.

SWOSU will next play Saturday at defending Lone Star Conference champion West Texas A&M. Tipoff is at 8 p.m.