PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico men's basketball played in front of the seventh highest number of fans at a DII game this year Tuesday morning. In total, 3,118 fans cheered on the Greyhounds to a 104-69 win over Navajo Tech at Greyhound Arena.

"I want to say thank you to everyone who came out to Youth Day," said head coach Brent Owen when asked about the game. "We really appreciate it! Thank you to all the local school districts. This is an awesome event, the kids love it, and we had a great time."

The energy brought from the local youth carried ENMU to its best ten-game start since the 1996-97 season. Eastern will head into 2024 with an 8-2 (4-0 LSC) record.

One of the fan favorites proved to be 6-9 sophomore Jose Murillo. Better known as "El Gigante," the Chihuahua, Mexico native had a career-day for his team.

Murillo shot 13-for-16 from the floor to score 28 points. His previous top scoring mark was 22 points in a win over Adams State earlier this season. The sophomore managed to grab seven rebounds, dish out four assists, and swat three shot attempts. He now has 50 blocks in his career ranking fifth among all ENMU players in a career.

In total, three other Hounds hit double digit scoring marks. Lyron Bennett broke his previous NCAA career-high scoring mark by connecting for 24 points. He had scored 23 points on multiple occasions for his former institutions, but today was the first time he finished with 24 points in a collegiate game.

Mario Whitley continued to be a steady weapon for ENMU with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting and Conrad Luczynski used his 7-3 frame to earn several buckets in the paint to total 10 points on the day.

ENMU scored 100+ points for the fifth time this year. It is the first time since 1995-96 that the Hounds have hit the century mark that many times in a single season.

Records and notable marks continue game-by-game as the 2023-24 campaign continues. Two marks that top the 21st century were met today. Greyhound Arena had not hit 3,000+ fans this century and the Greyhounds 31 assists are the most during this century, as well.

All ten student-athletes suited for ENMU today played a minimum of 14 minutes. Redshirt-sophomore Niko Bossinakis had his 2023-24 debut with six points and four rebounds. Twenty-six points were scored off the bench for Eastern.

One of the highlights of the day did not include time on the floor. Afterwards, Greyhound players surrounded the arena while signing autographs for the students in attendance. Kids asked to have shirts, posters, shoes, and hands signed by the team. The whole affair lasted more than an hour after the game had finished.

Simply put, Youth Day was a major success!

Eastern New Mexico will now take a six-day break to take some time to spend with family and friends. They will be back in action for an exhibition game in Albuquerque as they take on the University of New Mexico December 29th.