PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico men's basketball host two of the top-three teams in the Lone Star Conference Thursday and Saturday. (RV) Lubbock Christian is set to come to Greyhound Arena January 18 and No. 2 West Texas A&M will be in Portales January 20. Before the Hounds get to game day, please take a look at the Starting Five:

1.) All The Points: One of the most improved aspects of Eastern New Mexico men's basketball is the scoring total as a team. In back-to-back games over the last week, ENMU broke their season-high scoring mark. The team beat Cameron 105-84 and took down Midwestern State 108-91. The Greyhounds have scored 100+ points in seven different contests this season. The only other Greyhound team to do so? 1992-93. A team that won the LSC tournament and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Five of the century-mark results have come against conference opponents – St. Edward's, St. Mary's, then-No. 7 DBU, Cameron, and Midwestern State.

2.) Bevo Francis Watch List: Senior wing Jahcoree Ealy has been named to the Top 100 Bevo Award Watch List. The prestigious award is given to the player with the "finest overall season with small college basketball." Ealy is off to a remarkable start to the 2023-24 season. He has helped the Greyhounds begin 10-4 (6-2 LSC) and has ENMU on the edge for a bid to the NCAA tournament. The Conway, Ark. native boasts 22.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. He is second on the team with 43 assists and leads the Hounds with 18 steals.Some of his highlights from the 2023-24 season has included a trio of 30+ point performances in December. He scored 31 points in victories over St. Mary's and UT Tyler. He followed that with a 42-point night at No. 7 DBU. His career-high game assisted in ENMU giving the Patriots their lone loss of the season, 104-94. The following week, he was recognized as the national player of the week.

3.) Conference Honors: Senior Greg Johnson is the Lone Star Conference offensive player of the week after scoring 22.5 points and dishing out 4.5 assists per game between two contests that saw Eastern New Mexico go 2-0. The Arkansas native shot the ball well over the weekend. He went 16-of-25 (64%) from the field, including 6-of-9 (66.7%) from behind the arc. This week's honor comes after a career-high 39 points versus Midwestern State. He sunk six trey's and guided ENMU to a season-best 108 points. The Greyhounds are the only school in the LSC to have three weeks with the offensive player of the week. Johnson joins teammate Jahcoree Ealy (12/4, 12/11) with the accolade.

4.) A(Lone) Among The Lone Star: The Greyhounds lead the Lone Star Conference in nine major statistical categories. The team is dishing out 19.7 assists per game, swatting 5.1 shots per game, making 51.3% of their shots, forcing opponents to just 41.2% from the field, attempting 25.6 free throws per game, making 18.5 free throws per game, earning 28.29 defensive rebounds per game, grabbing 40.07 total rebounds per game, and allowing opponents to hit just 32.1% of their attempts from behind the arc.

5.) Into The Details: Lubbock Christian is one of the best teams in assist/turnover ratio (1.61), effective field goal percentage (.605), fouls per game (15.8), three point percentage (43.2%), and three-point makes per game (11.3). Although West Texas A&M does not lead the LSC in any major statistical category, they are efficient in free throws made per game (17.4), turnover margin (3.3), field goal percentage defense (42.6%), and offensive rebounds per game (12.13). Some things LCU ranks lower among the conference in includes blocks per game (2.3), fastbreak points per game (7.5), rebounds per game (30.0), and turnovers forced per game (12.0). On the other hand, WT tends to find themselves lower in the conference rankings in fastbreak points (8.47), steals per game (5.8), assists per game (11.6), and fouls per game (18.3). Overall, the matchups to look at include ENMU's shooting percentage defense against LCU's guards from behind the arc and WT's ability to win tight games and control the game from the free throw line.