LUBBOCK, Texas – All it took was one block to earn Eastern New Mexico men's basketball a win over (RV) Lubbock Christian Saturday afternoon. Senior wing Jahcoree Ealy used his 6-10 wingspan and swatted LCU's Ethan Duncan's three-point attempt with 19 seconds remaining.

"It felt good getting that block. I was just doing whatever I could to get the win," said Ealy when asked about the game-saving play afterwards. "I think we won because we wanted it and we sat down and played defense."

Ealy's play setup his teammate Mario Whitley for a pair of free throws to get the Hounds a four-point edge. The road victory marks the first win in Lubbock since 2017.

"This is a really tough place to play," said head coach Brent Owen after the game. "When you play a team like that on the road, you have to do everything right. You have to make your free throws, box out, rebound, share the ball, take good shots, and you have to do everything right to win games like this."

Well, ENMU did a lot right and that's why they won the game. However, Owen was the first to admit that the team didn't do everything.

"We didn't do everything right," remarked Owen. "We did a whole lot right, especially defensively in the first half. I was really pleased with how we defended and rebounded."

The Chaps took the first lead of the game (3-0) and that's all the advantage LCU would hold on the night. One of the biggest reasons why is because Eastern New Mexico shot an ideal 69% from the floor in the first half. The first 20 minutes of play saw Lubbock Christian struggle guarding Ealy's drives to the rim, the size of Conrad Luczynski and Jose Murillo, Mario Whitley's step back floater, and smart shooting from Greg Johnson.

The second half saw a unique challenge arise for ENMU as both bigs got into foul trouble and allowed the Chaps to use their quick guards to drive in the paint and score easier than they did in the earlier period of play.

Eastern managed to holdoff any late attack, including the Duncan shot attempt towards the end of the contest that would have given the home side a lead for the first time since the opening shot make.

Whitley made a huge different in the result with 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting. He added eight rebounds and two assists. Johnson went for 21 points off 7-of-11 from the floor along with three boards and three assists.

"I feel like the team played great," said Greg Johnson after the game. "Hopefully we can keep building. This was a great road win."

ENMU limited LCU to just 6-of-22 (27.3%) from behind-the-arc. The Chaps are the conference's leader in effective three-point percentage and attempt the most per game.

The Hounds will now have a three-game homestand beginning with a Thursday night battle with Oklahoma Christian who sits just two games behind the Hounds in conference standings.