STEPHENVILLE – Tarleton men's basketball dropped its final home game of the season against Eastern New Mexico, 70-68, on Saturday in Wisdom Gym.
 
The Texans fall to 18-9 overall and 8-8 in the Lone Star Conference while Eastern New Mexico improves to 13-12 overall and 10-7 in league play.
 
Senior Jesse Hill led the Texans in his final game in Wisdom Gym, posting 17 points with six rebounds, four blocks and two steals. Josh Hawley recorded his LSC-leading 14^th double-double with 10 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Brandon Goldsmith, also a senior, recorded 10 points, five rebounds and two steals as one of three Texans in double figures scoring.
 
Eastern New Mexico led from start to finish in the game, as the Greyhounds went up 27-15 in the first 12 minutes of play. Trailing by 13, the Texans went on a 9-0 run that was capped off on a Goldsmith 3-pointer to cut the deficit to four. The Greyhounds led 36-30 at halftime.
 
The Texans came out in the second half and attacked the rim to get back into the game. Three straight layups by Hawley, Hill and Randall Broddie cut the game to 42-39 in the first four minutes of the second half. The Greyhounds, however, would go back up by 13 – the largest lead of the game – with nine minutes remaining.
 
Trailing by nine, with three minutes left, Goldsmith drilled another 3-pointer to start a 7-0 run as Hill added a pair of layups to make the score 67-65. After a pair of Eastern N.M. free throws to extend the lead to four, Broddie, who had eight points in the game, drained a 3-pointer from the wing to put the Texans to within one with 30 seconds left. Goldsmith's contested layup to tie the game with five seconds left resulted in no whistle that allowed the Greyhounds to hold on for the road win.
 
Richie Mitchell, who was making his second straight start, had eight points for the Texans. Off the bench, Isaiah Boling led the Texans with eight on a pair of 3-pointers. Senior Corinthian Ramsey had three points, while Sam Marshall and Clashon Gaffney each had two points.
 
Tarleton will close out the regular season on the road with trips to Western New Mexico on Thursday, Feb. 28 at 8:30 p.m. CST followed by a game at UT Permian Basin on Saturday, March 2 at 4 p.m.