PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico men's basketball will take on #4 West Texas A&M on the road at the First United Bank Center on Tuesday evening at 6:35 MST.

The Hounds have won seven out of their last eight games and will square off with a Buff's squad that has now won 12 straight games and has continued to climb the national polls based upon their impressive win streak. Eastern New Mexico will be coming off of the program's first win at Tarleton State since 1996 and currently sits one game back of Angelo State for third place in the Lone Star Conference rankings at 10-7 in conference play.

Tuesday evening's game is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN3 as part of the Division II Showcase available on ESPN3 and the ESPN app, while also serving as the 2019 regular season finale for the Greyhounds. Eastern New Mexico will compete in an exhibition game at Grand Canyon on Wednesday night before shifting their full attention to the LSC Postseason Tournament that is scheduled to begin on March 7^th in Frisco, Texas.

SCOUTING THE BUFFS
West Texas A&M, as mentioned previously, has reeled off 12 straight victories and secured their second straight Lone Star Conference Regular Season Championship after taking down Texas A&M-Commerce by a final score of 81-69 on Saturday afternoon. Senior Ryan Quaid has continued to serve as the offensive focal point for the Buffs after dropping a career-high 30 points in the first meeting with Eastern New Mexico, while a total of five Buffs have averaged five or more points this season.

Freshman Qua Grant has taken the reigns of the offense and has reached double-digit scoring numbers in the last seven outings for West Texas A&M, including four different 20-point plus outings. The Waxahachie, Texas native has been named the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week for two straight weeks after leading a Buff offense that averages 86.2 points per game against conference opposition.

The Buffs have shot the ball well all season and lead the LSC with a total of 178 made three-point baskets for an average of 10.5 per game. West Texas A&M has been phenomenal at home inside the First United Bank Center over the past three seasons, accumulating a record of 45-1 over the past two seasons.  
 
ESTABLISHING THE MOST SINCE
Eastern New Mexico's 70-68 win on Saturday afternoon at Tarleton State provided milestones that gave the Hounds much more than just their first win in Stephenville since 1996. It was the first time in the history of the program that the Greyhounds have defeated Tarleton State three consecutive times and gave the team it's first double-digit win total in conference play since winning the LSC South Division Championship during the 2003-04 season.
 
The Greyhounds have now matched their highest win total of 13 since head coach Tres Segler's first year at the helm of the program and have won six out of their last seven contests, their best stretch since that 2003-04 season.
 
OPTIONS GALORE
The Greyhounds have had six different players lead the team in highest point totals in a game this season and have also seen eight indivdiual 20-plus scoring outputs throughout the year. The Hounds have maintained a strong nine-man rotation all season with eight of those players averaging 15-plus minutes on the court.
 
Devin Pullum, Chukuka Emili, Zach Parker and Nick Brown have all shown flashes of scoring brilliance while Parker, Pullum and Emili have all averaged 10 or more points per game this season.
 
THE EMILI EFFECT 
No single individual's play has meant more to the Hounds success this season than senior Chukuka Emili. The team's second leading scorer (11.3 ppg) and leading rebounder (8.0) has meant much more to the team in his one season in Portales than just a reliable scoring and rebounding threat.
 
After starting out the season 0-3, the Hounds are now 9-3 in games in which Emili has scored 10 or more points and have won the last five games in which the senior has recorded a double-double. Much of Emili's success depends on his ability to stay out of foul trouble early in games as he currently leads the team with 75 fouls, averaging right at 3.0 a game.
 
He continues to lead the LSC with 56 total blocks per game and will be tasked with slowing down West Texas A&M big man Ryan Quaid, who had 30 points in the first meeting between the two teams back on Jan. 22nd.
 
FINDING THE STROKE ON THE ROAD
The Hounds finished the regular season with a home record of 7-2, but have struggled to use their deep three-point shooting talent in road games all season. Saturday's win over Tarleton State was the first time the Hounds have found their range early on the road and kept up that three-point shooting threat for the entirety of the game.
 
Eastern had a season high 11 makes from three-point range on the road on Saturday afternoon, shooting nearly 50 percent (11-of-21) from long range for the game. The Greyhounds previous best mark from three-point range away from Greyhound Arena was back on Dec. 19th in a 78-73 non-conference win over Regis (45.4 percent).
 
TAKE CARE OF THE BALL
It goes without saying how important it is to take care of the basketball at all times, but especially on the road against the league's most efficient offense. Eastern has lost just three of the 12 games on the year in which they have recorded less turnovers then their opponents.
 
One of those losses came in the first meeting against West Texas A&M, as the Hounds turned the ball over just 11 times compared to the Buff's 13 turnovers. It will be very important for the Hounds to maintain that emphasis on taking care of the ball against the Buffs, but it will be just as important to make good shot selections, something the Hounds struggled mightily with in the first meeting between the two teams.
 
HOW SWEET IT COULD BE
As impressive and as important as this season has been for Eastern New Mexico, taking down a top-5 nationally ranked team on the road would prove as a true momentum generator heading into the LSC Postseason Tournament. Had coach Tres Segler and the Hounds have been dominated in each of the previous three contests held inside the First United Bank Center and a good showing from the Greyhounds on national television would prove that the culture of Eastern New Mexico men's basketball has completely flipped under Segler.