PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico men's basketball is back to action at Steve Loy Family Foundation Arena Thursday night facing Sul Ross State. The matchup with the Lobos will be part of Military Appreciation Night at ENMU. Before the basketball game, please take a look at the Starting Five Preview:

1.) Winning on the Road: Eastern New Mexico improved to 5-4 in Lone Star Conference play with a 80-70 win over Angelo State last Saturday. Four Greyhounds scored in double figures in the contest. Those players included Mario Whitley (18 pts), Jose Murillo (17 pts), Treyvon Byrd (15 pts), and Mo Austin (13 pts). Whitley was a consistent visitor to the charity stripe as he hit all eight of his shot attempts from there. Murillo continued to shoot at a high clip from the field as he made 6-of-8 from the floor. He now ranks fifth in the nation in total field goal percentage. Byrd has scored 10+ points in ten of the last eleven games. Austin has improved his scoring total from 4.8 points per game (Dec. 7) to 9.0 points per game (Jan. 11) over the last month after posting 10+ points in six of the last seven contests.

2.) El Gigante: Jose Murillo has been one of the most important factors for Eastern New Mexico this season. Murillo had his third collegiate double double in the win over the Rams as he put up 17 points and pulled down ten rebounds. Two of his double doubles in his career have come in San Angelo, Texas. The Mexico native leads the Lone Star Conference in total blocks with 24. He recently surpassed the career block record at Eastern New Mexico. His 106 career blocks now holds the lead among all former Greyhound shot blockers. The junior has scored 12+ points in ten different games this year. Murillo averages 13.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per outing.

3.) Statistical Notes: The Greyhounds rank in the top ten nationally in five different team categories. ENMU is second in the nation with a +10.7 rebound margin. The Hounds are fourth with a +20.3 scoring margin. Eastern ranks fifth with 22.40 fastbreak points per contest. The program is tenth, scoring 90.9 points per game, earning 42.0 rebounds per outing, and picking up 11.7 steals per matchup. The team also ranks first in the Lone Star Conference in field goal percentage (50.5%) and free throws made per game (16.8). An ENMU student-athlete also leads the conference in steals, blocks, and field goal percentage. Murillo is posting 1.6 blocks per game and shooting at a 70.3% clip. Cooper Jackson leads the LSC with 43 total steals. Senior Mario Whitley ranks third in the conference with 8.9 rebounds and playing 34:49 minutes per game.

4.) History On Our Side: Eastern New Mexico leads the overall series over Sul Ross State, 38-23. The Greyhounds have won the last three matchups. Eastern has not faced SRSU since 1991. In that game, ENMU pulled off a 98-74 home win. The Hounds are 24-8 when playing the Lobos at home. This will be the first matchup with the two foes as members of the Lone Star Conference. The last time Sul Ross State won in Portales against Eastern New Mexico was in 1985 with the visitors holding onto an 88-86 result. The first ever matchup between the two opponents came in 1947 when the two programs played each other on back-to-back days. SRSU won the first matchup 54-41 and ENMU won the following day with the same score, 54-41.

5.) Who To Watch: Sul Ross State comes into Portales with a 1-13 (0-9 LSC) record. The Lobos only win has come against a familiar foe to the Greyhounds. SRSU beat Navajo Tech earlier this season, 129-23. The visitors have lost every conference game by 12 or more points. They are coming off setbacks versus Lubbock Christian (84-54) and Midwestern State (88-62). Against LCU, the program did not have a single player score in double figures. In the loss to MSU, Ethan Yancy led the team with 20 points on 6-of-15 shooting. Seven of his points came from the free throw line. The top rebounder for SRSU is Bryce Harris who picks up 6.6 boards per matchup. Harris has secured double digit rebound totals in two games this year. The team's top three-point shooter is Deon Brown who has hit 30 shots from deep range. He has gone nine-straight games with a three point make.