PORTALES, N.M. – After earning a crucial ranked win over No. 19 MSU Denver, Eastern New Mexico men's basketball is set to open conference play against a team in the top-25. Before Saturday's matchup with No. 2 West Texas A&M, please read the Starting Five:

1.) Home Win: ENMU improved to 3-1 with a victory over No. 19 MSU Denver Wednesday night. The Greyhounds were aided by five players in double digits. Jaden Clarke had a team-high 23 points off the bench, including seven rebounds. Senior Mario Whitley had an effective game with 16 points, including ten points coming from free throws. Cougar Downing posted 15 points and a team best eight rebounds. Cooper Jackson was effective with 14 points, six steals, and four assists. Lastly, Jose Murillo showcased his talent with 13 points while shooting a perfect six-for-six on the night. ENMU made 28-of-57 (49.1%) shots from the floor and connected on 31-of-42 (73.8%) from the charity stripe.

2.) Experience Matters: Jose Murillo and Mario Whitley have proven to be effective in 2024-25. Both Murillo and Whitley started for the Hounds a year ago and have made impressive jumps from the year prior. Whitley leads ENMU with 17.0 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. He has improved his shooting percentage by at least four percent and is scoring six more points per contest. Murillo is averaging 13.0 points Your locationper game while staying as one of the top shot blockers in the league with six total blocks. He is also the best shooter in the LSC, making 76.7% of his attempts. Also returning for Eastern this season is Alex Alfaro after redshirting during the 2023-24 season. Alfaro has appeared in two games for ENMU for a total of 27 minutes of action on the floor.

3.) On The Bench: Eastern New Mexico has had at least one bench player score in double figures in three of the four games this season. Against MSU Denver, Jaden Clarke (23) and Cooper Jackson (14) accomplished that feat while playing significant minutes for the Hounds. Clarke has not started a single game for ENMU despite averaging 13.8 points per game and securing 4.3 rebounds per game. The Bronx, N.Y. native has a perfect three-for-three from deep range against the Roadrunners. Jackson has one start in four games for ENMU. The Kansas native is posting 10.3 points per game along with a nation leading 4.75 steals per game. He has 13 total steals over the last two contests.

4.) No. 2 In Town: No. 2 West Texas A&M is highly talented with most of their bench players from 2023-24 back in Canyon for the 2024-25 season. The Buffs are off to a 5-0 start with wins over Ferris State, UNC Pembroke, Oklahoma Panhandle State, Central Oklahoma, and Adams State. They are coming off a dominating 112-76 victory over Adams State Thursday afternoon. The game was within single digits at halftime, but a huge run over the first four minutes of the second half carried WT to a major home win. Ahamed Mohammed is the only returning start from last season and he has been a vital factor early on. He is averaging 21.6 points per game along with 7.0 rebounds. He has two double doubles this year, including a 32-point, 11-rebound outing versus UNC Pembroke. In just 20 minutes of action against Adams State, he posted 20 points and ten rebounds. Noah Pagotto (18.0), Jailyn Sledge (11.7), and Isaac Ayoubi (10.0) are all averaging double figures. Only Mohammed and Pagotto have appeared in all five games for WT this season among the double digit scorers.

5.) History With WT: West Texas A&M owns the series history against Eastern New Mexico, 96-20. The last meeting between the two squads was a 93-68 victory for the Buffs in Canyon, Texas. A year ago, when the teams met in Portales, WT squeaked out a 89-87 win. The last time Eastern New Mexico earned a win in the series was in 2017 with the Hounds posting a 96-83 result at home. In five games versus ENMU, Ahamed Mohammed has scored 26 points. Noah Pagotto was an important factor in WT's home win over Eastern last season as he scored 11 points in that contest. In the matchup played in Portales, Brock Mishak scored ten points. Mishak has not played in a game for WT this season. Jose Murillo has had some success against West Texas A&M as he scored 37 points in five games. Between the two contests a year ago, Mario Whitley had 13 points and ten rebounds.