CLOVIS, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico men's basketball brought the energy of Greyhound Arena to "The Rock" at Clovis High School for an announced crowd of 367. ENMU beat in-state foe Northern New Mexico, 97-67.

"I liked our approach to the game. Coming off a really big win combined with finals week can make it tough mentally," said head coach Brent Owen after the win. "Our guys approached it with effort and intensity from the tip."

The Greyhounds topped a school record last week and beat it out again tonight. ENMU's 11 blocks against NNMC is now the new top mark. One of the reasons why Eastern was able to block so many shots was because of Conrad Luczynski who swatted seven shots on the night beating teammate's Jose Murillo's record of six.

Just two days prior to the matchup with Eastern New Mexico, Northern New Mexico had taken DI New Mexico State to the wire in a five-point road loss. Today, the story was much different. The Greyhounds never gave up their initial lead and carried themselves to a certain victory over the crew from Espanola, N.M.

The game stayed within a 5-10 point lead for ENMU over the opening ten minutes of the contest, but a large charge by the Hounds led by easy touches in the paint for Mario Whitley, Lyron Bennett, and Jahcoree Ealy helped extend the edge.

At half, Eastern led 58-40.

The Hounds continued to stay the course in the second half and defended extremely well. They forced the Eagles to hit just 29.4% (10-34 FG) of their shots in the final period of play.

ENMU struggled from behind-the-arc, but that did not matter as 70 of their 97 points were scored in the paint. 

One benefit on the night was the display of Eastern's bench. Tre'Von Love led the program with 27 minutes of time on the floor. Love scored eight points and dished out three assists.

Leading the way offensively was Mario Whitley with 20 points. He led all players with four offensive rebounds.

"I feel like we played as a team and everyone contributed well tonight," said Whitley when asked about tonight' game. "I want to thank the fans for all the support. It was fantastic to see them in the stands."

Ealy finished with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Guard Lyron Bennett continued to guide the Greyhounds down the court garnering 17 points while posting six assists and five rebounds.

ENMU now looks ahead for a Tuesday morning showdown with Navajo Tech. The Skyhawks will come into Greyhound Arena for Youth Day set for 11 a.m. More information can be found at goeasternathletics.com