PORTALES, N.M. – More than 2,000 kids came to Greyhound Arena to cheer on Eastern New Mexico men's basketball to an 80-70 win over Navajo Tech in Thursday's home opener.

"The atmosphere in Greyhound Arena was awesome," said head coach Brent Owen. "Thank you to Portales, Melrose, and Floyd school districts for all of the work they did to help make Youth Day a success."

The Hounds used a pair of 6-0 runs to hold an early advantage in the game, but the Skyhawks did not let ENMU find a breakthrough until the final five minutes of the opening frame when the Greyhound took control with a 20-4 scoring spree.

With a 13-point advantage at the break, the Hounds looked to players like Eze Dike and Greg Johnson who scored early buckets in the opening stages of the second half. A pair of blocks by Jose Murillo in the early moments of the period gave Eastern opportunities to stop Navajo Tech's attack.

The Skyhawks got the game within three points (66-63) with 6:49 left, but ENMU was able to pull through over the next five minutes of the game to lockup the game and find its second victory of the 2022-23 campaign.

"It's more enjoyable to learn from a win than a loss. We were without three players due to minor injuries who have played heavy minutes for us and other guys were able to step up and make enough plays to win the game," said Owen. "I thought Errol White's energy and effort were outstanding and it was great to have Jahcoree Ealy on the court for the first time this season."

White led all players with 22 points and 12 rebounds. He registered four steals and dished out four assists as well.

Dike scored 15 points and added three assists and three rebounds for the Hounds. The graduate transfer shot 5-for-7 from the floor and hit three shots from behind the arc.

Off the bench, Jason Holman scored eleven points. He went 3-for-5 from deep and made a pair of free throws. Over fifteen minutes of action, he added three assists.

As a team, Eastern outrebounded the Skyhawks 38-28 and made 21 of its 27 shots with an assist.

"We look forward to a rematch on Saturday at Clovis High School at 3 p.m.," said Owen. "We hope the Clovis community will come out and take advantage of a free opportunity to watch our guys play."

Saturday's game at Clovis High School is free of charge to attendees. The game will tip-off at 3 p.m. and streamed on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network.