PORTALES, N.M – Eastern New Mexico dropped a Saturday afternoon contest with UT Permian Basin, 69-5, at Greyhounds Arena. With the victory, Eastern slips to 7-13 on the season with a Lone Star Conference (LSC) record of 3-11. The Falcons improve to 17-3 three overall, while posting a 12-2 conference record.

Both teams were even in the opening five minutes, with Jaz Salon and Deja Adrian providing an early spark. The Falcons took control in the final few minutes of the opening quarter, going on a 7-0 streak to end the quarter. To begin the 2^nd quarter, UT Permian Basin was hot from the field hitting several three pointers and extending its lead to 16 points (32-16 UTPB). A Salon three pointer ended a 12-0 run for the Falcons, and the Greyhounds closed the gap to 10 points going into the locker room, 34-24 UTPB.
 
The Greyhounds surged back to open the third, making it a one possession game with just over five minutes to play, 38-36 UTPB. Ishuana Hunter connected on opening possession with a put-back layup, and Deairah Mays connected from deep to open the second half. The Falcons broke their scoring drought in the final minutes of the 3^rd quarter, taking a 45-39 lead into the final period. UT Permian Basin jolted their offense in the final quarter, going on an 11-0 streak to begin the period. Daci Smith broke the streak with a three pointer, but UTPB continued to score the ball until the final whistle, 69-51 UTPB.

NOTABLE STATS

• Eastern struggled from the field, shooting just 29.8% from the floor (17-57). The Greyhounds connected on 32.4% of long-range attempts (11-34), while ENMU went 6-8 at the foul line (75.0%). The visitors compiled a 50.0% shooting percentage (26-52), also finishing 50.0% from the three-point arc (8-16) and holding a 69.2 percentage from the foul line (9-13.
• UT Permian Basin finished as the better rebounding team, 37-30, while both teams finished with seven steals.
• Salon finished as the top scorer for the Greyhounds with 15 points, hitting five three-pointers in the game. Hunter supplied seven points and seven rebounds, while Smith supplied nine points from the bench in just 13 minutes.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Greyhounds made a season high 11 three-pointers in the game on 34 attempts.
• Salon tied a personal best for three-point makes with five during the game.
• ENMU now hits the road to face Midwestern State on Thursday, Feb. 8. First tip from the D.L. Ligon Coliseum is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.