PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico men's basketball hosts Oklahoma Christian for a conference matchup Thursday night at Steve Loy Family Foundation Arena. Before the 7 p.m. game, please take a look at the Starting Five:
1.) Last Game Recap: ENMU men's basketball is coming off an 88-45 win over Justice College.
Treyvon Byrd led the team with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
Isaiah Randolph (14) and
Cooper Jackson (12) also scored in double figures. Jackson made just his second start of the season and tied a season-high with seven steals. Randolph came off the bench and contributed four rebounds and three steals. Eastern outrebounded Justice, 55-29. The home side forced 30 turnovers and converted those possessions into 43 points. ENMU also attempted 47 free throws and hit 74.5% of those shots.
2.) Stepping Up: Eastern played their last game without
Mario Whitley and
Cougar Downing.
Treyvon Byrd stepped up for the Hounds as they were missing two starters. Byrd played 20 minutes and helped the home side force difficult shot attempts and several mistakes. This year, the Durham, N.C. native has five steals and four blocks thanks to his ability to create defensive pressure. He had a season-high six field goals and went 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Byrd has started five games in 2024-25 for ENMU.
3.) Around the LSC: Eastern New Mexico leads the conference in fastbreak points (24.33), rebound margin (+13.5), rebounds (43.83), and scoring margin (+24.8). One of the better parts for ENMU this season has been creating turnovers. Eastern is second in the conference and fifth nationally forcing 23.00 turnovers per game. Eastern posts 13.2 steals per game, which is second in the LSC and seventh in NCAA DII. Junior guard
Cooper Jackson leads all student-athletes in NCAA DII with 4.50 steals per game. He is second in the nation with 27 total steals.
Jose Murillo leads the conference in a couple statistics – blocks per game (1.50) and field goal percentage (71.4%).
4.) All Tied Up: The overall series between Oklahoma Christian and Eastern New Mexico is tied at five games apiece. ENMU is on a four-game winning streak over the Eagles, including three of those wins coming in Portales. Back in February 2024, Eastern posted a 110-79 win over OC. In the win,
Mario Whitley scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Jose Murillo added six points, four rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. The Greyhounds hold a 3-2 mark in the series when matchups are played in Portales. ENMU and OC's first ever meeting went in favor to the Eagles (86-64) in a matchup played in Edmond, Okla. on November 20, 1975.
5.) Eagles Flyin': Oklahoma Christian comes into Portales with a 3-2 record and an 0-2 mark in road games. The Eagles will be playing their first game in Lone Star Conference action. It's no secret that experience plays a huge portion to OC's depth this year as several key components to the squad are seniors. Division I transfer Keyondre Young is having a spectacular start to his season posting 20.0 points per game. Young has scored 20+ points and hit at least five three-pointers in three-straight games, including 28 points against East Central. A familiar name is back on the roster for the Eagles in Marco Foster. The 2020-21 all-LSC honoree came back to Edmond, Okla. after transferring to North Alabama. Foster is posting 16.2 points per game and has gone 17-of-35 from deep range. He is coming off a season-high 18 points in a road loss to Harding.
