PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico men's basketball home slate begins Thursday afternoon at Steve Loy Family Foundation Arena. Tipoff versus Navajo Tech is set for noon. Before the Greyhounds and Skyhawks hit the hardwood, please take a look at the "Starting Five" preview:

1.) Weekend Recap: Eastern left Durango, Colo. with a 1-1 record after a win over New Mexico Highlands and dropping a contest to No. 22 Fort Lewis. ENMU's 94-82 win over NMHU was highlighted by a career-high 24 points from senior Mario Whitley. Whitley secured his fifth career double-double with ten rebounds over 38 minutes of action. The loss to FLC came by a 66-55 decision. Eastern New Mexico struggled hitting deep range shots (2-15 3FG) and connecting on free throws (9-17 FT). Whitley led the team with 13 total points and six rebounds. Two other players, Cooper Jackson (11) and Jaden Clarke (10) also scored in double figures.

2.) Defensive Toughness: Through the first two games of the season, it is apparent that ENMU will be a defensive-minded program. The Greyhounds have the leader in blocks and steals per game in their lineup. Transfer guard Cooper Jackson leads the conference with three steals per outing and third-year Hound Jose Murillo is swatting an LSC-best two blocks per contest. Eastern is limiting opponents to 74 points per game and only forcing a poor field goal percentage (38.5%). ENMU also holds a +1 rebound margin (39-38). Two players rank in the top seven in the LSC in defensive rebounds per game. They include Whitley (3rd) and Mo Austin (7th).

3.) Whitley's Wisdom: Through two games, forward Mario Whitley has 18.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. He is connecting on 55.6% of his shot attempts and is averaging 37 minutes per contest. In the win over NMHU, he posted career-high marks in points (24), field goals (11), and minutes (38). In 2023-24, Whitley aided ENMU to their third NCAA tournament appearance in school history. The Saginaw, Mich. native played in 30 contests starting in 28 total. He averaged 10.9 points per game along with garnering 7.3 rebounds per outing. One of his better games in his first season as a Greyhound came in a home win over Midwestern State where he scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. He did so while tacking on a pair of assists and a pair of steals.

4.) Youth Day: The fan-favorite youth day is back at Steve Loy Family Foundation Arena. ENMU has won every youth day matchup since January 2018 – an overtime loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville. Eastern New Mexico University will welcome area-kids to the arena for a high-noon matchup with Navajo Tech. This will be the third-straight year that the youth game will feature a matchup with NTU.

5.) Matchup History: Eastern New Mexico is 3-0 all-time versus Navajo Tech. All three matchups have been played over the last two seasons. In 2022, the Hounds earned a win in Portales (80-70) and a win in Clovis (70-58). Last year, ENMU posted a 104-69 win. In their last game against Sul Ross State, guard Troy King led the Skyhawks with 12 points and seven rebounds. Navajo Tech is a public tribal land-grant university founded in 1979 in Crownpoint, N.M. The institution grants several associate's, bachelor's, and master's degrees, including a PhD program in Diné Culture and Language Sustainability. They compete in men's and women's basketball, archery, cross country, and rodeo.