Silver City, NM – Eastern New Mexico men saw their first win of 2020 on the road against Western New Mexico where defeating the Mustangs 81-71.

Taking the lead for over 90 percent of the game, the Greyhounds impressed on defense forcing 16 turnovers from the Mustangs, grabbing eight steals, and recording three blocked shots. The Hounds dominated the glass out rebounding the Mustangs 40-21, while grabbing 28 defensive rebounds alone.

Deng Kuany once again impressed, and he set new season records in multiple categories. Kuany replaced his scoring high after putting up 22 points, shooting over a 66.7 percent in all fields. Kuany also recorded his second highest rebound mark with seven and set a new season high with four steals.

The Greyhounds got off to a great start in the first half after a layup by Ibn Zaid marked the first points on the board for either team. A back and forth match continued until the Hounds slowly pulled away after a 10-point run giving the Hounds a 22-14 lead with under eight minutes left. Offensive rebounds gave the Hounds second chances at scoring, allowing them to extend their lead and run more time off the clock. After a three-point play from Kuany the Hounds sailed through the remaining two minutes into halftime.

Keeping the Mustangs at arm's length for majority of the second half, the Hounds started out with a full court press. Hit with back to back fouls the ten-point lead turned into six and the Hounds regained control of the game.

With four minutes on the clock, Ibn Zaid drove to the basket drawing a foul making a three-point play. From there on it was play after play as Garrick Sherrod caught a steal and a layup while Kuany grabbed an offensive rebound and turned it into a three-point play drawing a foul.  The Hounds finished the night connecting on 27-54 field goals for 50.0 percent and 24-31 free-throws for a 77.4 percent average.

Yosnier Cobas was one point and one rebound shy of a double-double recording nine rebounds and nine points for the night. Garrick Sherrod keeps impressing on the court, recording 12 points and five rebounds and three steals.  

Eastern New Mexico continues the road as they head west to Odessa, Texas where they match up against the UT Permian Basin Falcons on Saturday, Jan. 11^th at 3:00 p.m.