PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico men's basketball is back at Steve Loy Family Foundation Stadium Saturday afternoon for a matchup with Justice College. Before the game, please take a look at the Starting Five:
1.) To The Wire: Eastern New Mexico men's basketball took No. 2 West Texas A&M to overtime last week. The 99-95 loss was the 15th-straight for the Greyhounds against the Buffs. WT found success at the charity stripe as they sunk 35-of-48 free throw attempts. The visitor's turned the ball over 21 times and were outrebounded, 44-33. ENMU had five players score in double figures. Those included
Mario Whitley (21),
Cooper Jackson (16),
Treyvon Byrd (13),
Cougar Downing (12), and
Jose Murillo (12). The Buffs were carried by Ahamed Mohammed who scored 25 points in the win and Jailyn Sledge with a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double. WT remains number two in the nation in the most recent NABC poll.
2.) Double-Double: Senior forward
Mario Whitley earned his third double-double of the season in the last matchup with West Texas A&M. He is one of 29 players in NCAA DII with at least three double doubles over the first month of the collegiate basketball season. Whitley scored 21 points while pulling down 15 rebounds. The Saginaw, Mich. native has secured double-doubles in games versus Navajo Tech and New Mexico Highlands. ENMU's leading scorer is averaging 17.8 points per game and garnering 9.2 rebounds per contest. He has scored a minimum of 13 points in every game this year.
3.) Win The Board: Eastern New Mexico is crashing the glass early in 2024-25. The Greyhounds have 41.60 rebounds per game while limiting opponents to 30.60 per contest. The 11.0 rebound margin ranks tenth in the nation and first in the Lone Star Conference. The strongest part of ENMU's game is garnering 28.60 defensive rebounds per contest. The team's lowest rebound total (32) came in a loss to Fort Lewis. The season-high (50) for Eastern was against Navajo Tech.
4.) Give Thanks: The Hounds rank top ten nationally in five key statistical categories. ENMU forces 21.60 turnovers per game, which is seventh in the nation. They rank ninth in field goal percentage (53.0%) and fastbreak points (23.40). ENMU sits tenth in rebound margin (11.0) and scoring margin (21.2). Eastern is scoring a whopping 94.0 points per game and have three players who rank top ten in the conference in field goal percentage. Those players include
Jose Murillo (1
st – 75.7%),
Mario Whitley (4
th – 55.7%), and
Jaden Clarke (9
th – 49.0%).
5.) First Time: It will be the first meeting for Justice College and Eastern New Mexico Saturday at 12 p.m. inside Steve Loy Family Foundation Arena. The Lions are a fourth-year program from Chandler, Ariz. who compete in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) and the Southwestern States Intercollegiate Conference. They are led by B.J. Letcher. JC began the year with an 0-9 mark. This season, some notable games include contests versus DI Weber State (93-45), DII Westminster (UT) (94-74), and DII Western Colorado (72-48). Justice College scores 60.2 points per contest and blocks 3.1 shots per game. The Lions only connect on 26.7% of their attempts from the three-point line. They are playing an exhibition versus West Texas A&M, Nov. 29.
