WICHITA FALLS, Texas — Midwestern State got a career-high 24 points from senior guard Kevin Grayer and used a 13-0 first-half run to take control en route to an 83-72 Lone Star Conference men’s basketball victory over Eastern New Mexico University on Saturday night.

The win was the fifth in a row for Midwestern State (16-5, 12-2 LSC) and moved the Mustangs closer to their seventh regular-season league championship since 1999.

Grayer finished 9-of-12 from the floor and also added four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Senior forward Corbin Thomas added 19 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes for the Mustangs, while senior forward Derek Kaster chipped in a pair of 3-pointers and 13 points off the bench.

For the Greyhounds (10-12, 7-7), who saw their season-best four-game winning streak come to an end, junior guard Rafael Love finished one point short of a season best with 26 points, while junior guards Rodney Blackmon and Jordan Romero added 24 and 12, respectively. The trio combined to go 11-of-21 from 3-point range, while Love added six rebounds and Blackmon had six assists and three steals.

The teams went back and forth early and the Hounds had an 18-15 edge midway through the first half on a 3-pointer by Love before the Mustangs took off.

ENMU had four turnovers and went 0-for-6 from the field during MSU’s run, which lasted nearly seven minutes and didn’t end until Blackmon converted a pair of free throws at the 3:48 mark. Midwestern led 37-28 at halftime.

The Mustangs never quite put the Hounds away, but ENMU was unable to get any closer than seven points in the second half. Grayer’s 3-point basket with 4:49 left made it 74-62 and pretty much put the game out of reach.

ENMU played for the second game in a row without junior guard Kyle Lantz, who sustained a knee injury Feb. 2 in a home win over Abilene Christian. Romero moved into the starting lineup after that,.

Love played the entire 40 minutes, Blackmon went 39 and Romero 34 against the Mustangs. The Hounds managed only three points from their bench, although junior post Phil Henry did grab a team-high eight rebounds.

SUMMARY

Saturday

Men

Lone Star Conference

Midwestern State 83, ENMU 72

Eastern New Mexico (10-12, 7-7) — Dennis  Hardwell 0-2 1-2 1, Lawrence Domingo 3-6 0-1 6, Rodney Blackmon 6-18 9-12 24, Rafael Love 11-22 0-0 26, Jordan Romero 4-6 0-0 12, Dylan Houlihan 0-1 0-0 0, Greg McFarland 0-1 0-1 0, Deyton De La Cerda 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan Awoye 0-0 0-0 0, Phil Henry 1-4 1-2 3. Totals 25-60 11-18 72.

Midwestern State (16-5, 12-2) — Eddie D’Haiti 1-1 3-6 5, Corbin Thomas 6-11 7-8 19, Kevin Gryer 9-12 5-6 24, Derrell Gibbs 1-4 0-0 3, Cam Adderly 2-8 2-5 6, Keith Spellman 1-4 0-2 2, Conner Geiser 1-4 1-1 3, Jeff Grayer 1-2 0-0 2, Drerk Kaster 3-6 5-6 13, Chris Buttermore 3-3 0-0 6. Totals 28-55 23-34 83.

Halftime — Midwestern State 37, Eastern New Mexico 28. 3-pointers — Eastern New Mexico 11-23 (Love 4-6, Romero 4-6, Blackmon 3-9, Hardwell 0-1, Houlihan 0-1), Midwestern State 4-10 (Kaster 2-2, K. Grayer 1-1, Gibbs 1-3, Adderly 0-1, Spellman 0-1, Geiser 0-2). Rebounds — Eastern New Mexico 32 (Henry 8), Midwestern State 38 (Adderly 8. Assists — Eastern New Mexico 11 (Blackmon 6), Midwestern State 14 (Gibbs, K. Grayer 4). Total fouls — Eastern New Mexico 26, Midwesetern State 21. Fouled out — Hardwell, McFarland. A — 2,745.