PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico men's basketball closed out the opening month of collegiate basketball with a 88-45 win over Justice College.

"The defense did a good job getting us into the game," said head coach Daven Võ. "It was interesting to see how we played without Mario Whitley and Cougar Downing."

The Greyhounds and Lions went back-and-forth over the opening 13 minutes as the matchup stayed within single digits until ENMU went up 25-14 with 6:53 remaining courtesy of an Alex Alfaro jumper.

Eastern forced 30 turnovers with junior Cooper Jackson leading the way and tying a season-best seven steals. The home side added 43 points to the scoreboard thanks to those  turnovers.

ENMU began the game without two everyday starters – Mario Whitley and Cougar Downing. Instead, head coach Daven Võ went to Jaden Clarke and Jackson in his starting five.

Three different student-athletes scored in double figures on the afternoon. Treyvon Byrd led the way with a season-high 20 points on six-of-nine shooting. He managed to grab four rebounds in the victory.

Randolph had a strong game off the bench as he posted season-highs in points (14), minutes (16), rebounds (4), and steals (3).

Jackson made the most of his start with 12 points with two made three-pointers. He also had five rebounds and two assists.

Eleven different Hounds scored in the game. ENMU's depth helped the program score 34 points off the bench. Eastern came into the game leading the Lone Star Conference in bench points per game.

One area Justice College struggled with was fouling. The visitors from Chandler, Ariz. committed 31 fouls, which resulted in the Hounds shooting 47 free throws and converting on 35 of those attempts.

Eastern dominated the rebound battle, 55-29. Jose Murillo carried the program with eight total boards. The Hounds garnered 25 offensive rebounds in the contest and converted those opportunities into 18 second chance points.

ENMU will dive deep into conference action this week as they host Oklahoma Christian Thursday night at 7 p.m. The Eagles come into Portales with a 3-2 record. Both of their losses have come on the road.