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Men's Basketball Jose Montoya

MBB Starting Five: Cameron visits Eastern New Mexico

Eastern New Mexico men's basketball hosts defensive-minded Cameron Aggies

PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico men's basketball is set for game two of the home conference weekend slate as they host Cameron. The Aggies come into town after a loss to West Texas A&M. Before the 3 p.m. matchup, please take a look at the Starting Five:

1.) Winning Big: Eastern New Mexico beat Oklahoma Christian in a convincing fashion. The 91-68 win gave ENMU their first LSC victory of the season. The Greyhounds scored the first basket of the game 30 seconds into the contest and never looked back as they kept the lead the entire way. Defensively, Eastern stayed aggressive in the first half, which helped them take a double digit lead just seven minutes into the contest. The large lead would extend further and ENMU controlled the tempo the rest of the way. Jaden Clarke led the Hounds with 18 points off the bench. The Bronx, N.Y. native finished 8-of-11 from the floor.

2.) Double It: Saturday's matchup with be a fun contest between two of the conference's top rebounders. Mario Whitley is now tied with CU's Jaxon Ingram for the most double-doubles in the Lone Star Conference. The Saginaw, Mich. native earned his fourth double-double of the season as he scored 13 points and snagged ten rebounds in the win over the Eagles Thursday night. Whitley leads the Greyhounds with 17.0 points per game and is securing 9.3 rebounds per game. Over six games played, he already has four games with a double-double. The senior finished the night with three steals and a block. Ingram currently leads the conference in field goal percentage, blocks, and rebounds.

3.) More Steals: Eastern New Mexico posted 15 steals in the win over Oklahoma Christian. ENMU men's basketball was led by Cooper Jackson with four total steals. He currently leads the nation in steals per game. Mario Whitley posted three steals in the win over the Eagles. Treyvon Byrd, Jaden Clarke, and Mo Austin all had two steals apiece. Lastly, Cougar Downing and Jose Murillo both registered a single steal. For comparison, Oklahoma Christian only stole the ball six times in the matchup. Eastern ranks second in the conference and sixth nationally with 13.4 steals per game. Jackson's 31 steals is third in the nation and his 4.43 steals per game is the best among DII student-athletes.

4.) Cameron's Consistency: Cameron men's basketball leads the Lone Star Conference in blocks per game (4.7) and three point percentage defense (26.5%). Guard Reggie Prudhomme is the top student-athlete  in the LSC with 5.3 assists per game. His teammate Jaxon Ingram leads the conference with 1.43 blocks per game, four double-doubles, and 10.6 rebounds per game. Greyhound fans will notice that Mario Whitley has four double-doubles as well and that Jose Murillo's field goal percentage is higher. The NCAA lists student-athletes only if they average 5+ makes per game in the field goal percentage category. Both Whitley and Ingram have four double-doubles this season.

5.) Cameron's Recap: The Aggies fell to West Texas A&M, 91-75, Thursday night. Cameron boasted four players in double figures. Jaxon Ingram (18) and Lavell Brodnex (11) led the way for CU. Reggie Prudhomme and Miles Gurske finished with ten points each. Both Ingram and Brodnex hauled in eight rebounds. The game was controlled in the paint as WT scored 42 points in the zone while Cameron managed to total 36 points. Both teams had a nice mix from behind the arc as well. West Texas A&M connected on ten three-pointers. Cameron hit nine three-pointers with Prudhomme leading the team with three total three's. WT was limited on team fouls, which helped the Buffs go to the charity stripe 19 times compared to just eight for the Aggies. CU last beat West Texas A&M during last season's LSC championship.

Players Mentioned

Jose Murillo

#33 Jose Murillo

F
6' 9"
Junior
Mario Whitley

#1 Mario Whitley

F
6' 5"
Senior
Cougar Downing

#2 Cougar Downing

G
6' 2"
Senior
Mo Austin

#3 Mo Austin

G
5' 9"
Freshman
Treyvon Byrd

#5 Treyvon Byrd

G/F
6' 6"
Junior
Jaden Clarke

#11 Jaden Clarke

G/F
6' 6"
Junior
Cooper Jackson

#24 Cooper Jackson

G
6' 1"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Jose Murillo

#33 Jose Murillo

6' 9"
Junior
F
Mario Whitley

#1 Mario Whitley

6' 5"
Senior
F
Cougar Downing

#2 Cougar Downing

6' 2"
Senior
G
Mo Austin

#3 Mo Austin

5' 9"
Freshman
G
Treyvon Byrd

#5 Treyvon Byrd

6' 6"
Junior
G/F
Jaden Clarke

#11 Jaden Clarke

6' 6"
Junior
G/F
Cooper Jackson

#24 Cooper Jackson

6' 1"
Junior
G