PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico men's basketball will look to extend their three-game winning streak as they head to the campus of Colorado State University Pueblo for two games. They will face MSU Denver on Friday at 2:30 pm. and will conclude the weekend with a game against the host CSU Pueblo on Saturday at 5 p.m. Before the weekend gets going, please take a look at the Starting Five Preview:

1.) WWWinning WWWays: Eastern New Mexico beat Northwestern Oklahoma State last weekend, 83-63. Most notably, they did so without an everyday starter Jose Murillo. Murillo was out of the game, but is expected to be fully available for the Pueblo weekend. Freshman Mika Tangermann got the starting role in place of Murillo and had his best collegiate game statistically. He made 5-of-6 shots from the floor and sunk both of his free throw attempts. Tangermann had season highs in points (12) and rebounds (4). Another player who shined on both ends of the floor was Mo Austin. Austin went 11-of-17 on shot attempts and boasted an impressive 25 points and three steals.

2.) Homecoming Time: Mo Austin will play in Pueblo, Colo. in a collegiate basketball game for the first time. The second year Greyhound starred for Pueblo South high school for four seasons and accumulated the most steals in Colorado high school history. In his prep career, he was named the state's player of the year twice. As a senior, he averaged 30+ points per game. Over 94 high school games, he averaged 24.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 6.3 apg, and 5.1 spg.

3.) Pace with the Roadrunners: MSU Denver is coming into the weekend with a 1-3 record, including a win over Lone Star Conference (LSC) foe Sul Ross State. They have lost to the LSC's Texas A&M International, Texas A&M-Kingsville, and St. Mary's all by double digit margins. The team's leading scorer is Garrett Falls who is putting up 16.3 ppg on 56.8% shooting from the floor. Falls converts three's at a high rate as he has knocked down 6-of-13 to begin the season. Logan Threatt can also be a threat for the Roadrunners as the junior guard has accumulated 15.5 ppg along with 12 assists and only four turnovers. The program is led by fourth year head coach Dan Ficke who has led the program to an RMAC tournament appearance all three seasons.

4.) Hear the Thunder: The host school CSU Pueblo is off to an excellent start with a 4-0 mark to begin the year. They hold wins against LSC institutions, Cameron and Midwestern State. On Friday, they will face UT Permian Basin and will follow that with the game against Eastern New Mexico on Saturday night. The Pack are third in the nation in field goal percentage defense (31.8%) and tied for fifth in the country in defensive rebounds (33.0). CSU Pueblo ranks first in the conference in several categories including rebound margin (+12.3), rebounds per game (46.5), scoring defense (61.3), and scoring margin (+21.0). Sophomore South Dakota Mines transfer Mac Terry leads the conference with a 5.33 assist/turnover ratio. Terry has started all four games and is averaging 5.3 ppg, 4.0 apg, and 2.8 rpg. Sophomore Jordan Blair is in his second season in Pueblo and is off to an excellent start with 15.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 1.8 apg, and 1.0 spg. Blair is not afraid to shoot the ball beyond the perimeter as he connects on 6-of-13 from behind the arc.

5.) Options are Plentiful: Several student-athletes have stepped up for Eastern New Mexico early this season. Jose Murillo leads the program with 17.3 ppg and 7.0 rpg. He is connecting on 18-of-24 of his shots and has four blocks in his senior campaign. Austin Abrams has made 21-of-44 of his field goal attempts and is posting 14.3 ppg. He has scored in double figures three times this season. Treyvon Byrd has made the most of his second and final season donning the green and silver with 9.8 ppg and 5.3 rpg. He is also third on the team with nine total steals. Kobe Smith is growing in his role in the backcourt for ENMU with a season best six points and seven rebounds against Northwestern Oklahoma State. Greyhound are in the top half of the Lone Star Conference in rebounding as they post 37.75 boards per game along with a +8.5 rebound margin. Defensively, the program is fifth in the LSC with 11.0 steals per game and forces 16.75 turnovers per outing. Mo Austin is second in the conference with three steals per game and third in the league with five assists per game.