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Men's Basketball 11/9/2022 2:00:00 PM Jose Montoya

MBB Starting Five: Fort Lewis, New Mexico Highlands

Men's basketball tips-off season in Las Vegas, N.M. Nov. 11, 12

PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico men's basketball begins the 2022-23 regular season at the LSC/RMAC Challenge hosted by New Mexico Highlands.

The other teams headed to Las Vegas, N.M. for the two-day event will be Fort Lewis and Angelo State. Before the Greyhounds tip-off Friday afternoon, please take a look at the Starting Five:

1.) It All Matters Now – ENMU played an exhibition game at Division I Grand Canyon two weeks ago. The Hounds lost 71-43, but showed a vast improvement on defense as they forced 20 turnovers against the preseason favorites in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Greg Johnson led all scorers with 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting off the bench.

2.) Boards Galore – Sophomore forward Errol White is a rebound machine. A year ago at Angelina College, he averaged 10.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game on his way to clipping eleven double-doubles over the season. He was tied for a team-high three rebounds along with teammates Eze Dike and Dwayne Chester III against GCU.

3.) Familiar Foes – For the seventh straight playable season, ENMU has faced both Fort Lewis and New Mexico Highlands to begin the season. The last time Eastern beat both teams in the same year came in the 2017-18 campaign where the Hounds defeated the Skyhawks 73-72 and the Cowboys 66-61.

4.) Replacing Riley – Eastern's first opponent, FLC will need to find a way to replace leading scorer from a year ago, Riley Farris. The all-time career point leader (2,073) averaged 19.1 points per game on 51.3% shooting. The Skyhawks are predicted to finish in fourth according to the RMAC preseason poll. One player to look out for is Akuel Kot who averaged 18.7 points per game in conference play during the 2021-22 season.

5.) Momentum Moving – NMHU made it to the first round of the RMAC tournament last year and is looking to be on the bubble for another berth into the postseason event. The team will have to do so without six of its top contributors from a year ago. They will lean on Tyler Rodgers and TJ Sanchez to provide support in their roles. Monday night, NM State beat the Cowboys 101-52 in an exhibition played at the Pan American Center.