PORTALES, N.M. – The palindrome will continue for Eastern New Mexico and MSU Denver records after Friday afternoon's nonconference matchup as part of the Thanksgiving Classic hosted by CSU Pueblo. ENMU came into the game with a 3-1 mark while MSUD sat at 1-3. Eastern's 78-65 victory over the RMAC foe improved the Greyhounds to 4-1 and dropped the Roadrunners to 1-4.

"We came out really strong in the first half. We were ready to play," said head coach Daven Võ after the team's win. "We have not played in a week and our guys week anxious to get out there."

Eastern New Mexico absolutely dominated the opening seven minutes of the matchup as they grew a 26-5 lead over MSU Denver. The Greyhounds pressured the Roadrunners defensively and at many points did not allow MSU Denver to even begin setting up the offensive sequence. Instead, the Hounds combined for 14 steals in the game.

ENMU scored first within 14 seconds of the start. From there, they led for 39:46 and did not allow the Roadrunners to hold a lead at any point.

The Greyhounds knew that this game would be won inside the paint. ENMU outscored their opponent, 54-24, in the paint alone.

"What we wanted to do," said Võ when asked about why his team played so well in the paint. "We try to be physical."

Eastern New Mexico won the rebounding battle, 45-36. They also earned an advantage on offensive rebounds, 19-14.

Jose Murillo was the most dominant player on the floor in the opening half of play. The senior forward had 12 points and 12 rebounds over the first period of action. He finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds.

Cooper Jackson continues to be a menace of defense. The senior guard picked up a team high five steals. Murillo earned four steals.

The game was special for one particular Greyhound. Mo Austin was playing in front of a group of Greyhound fans who cheered on Austin in an extra special way. The sophomore was playing in Pueblo for the first time since he starred for Pueblo South high school for four seasons.

Austin was a major presence on both ends of the floor as he added a game high 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting and six assists. He also posted three steals and five rebounds.

Another area where Eastern shined defensively was earning blocks. Freshman Mika Tangermann had four blocks and Jose Murillo added two.

Jackson and Tangermann finished with eight points each. Transfer guard Kobe Smith had seven points on 3-of-9 shooting.

Overall, Eastern shot the ball effectively going 31-of-67 (46.3%). One area where they struggled was the charity stripe. ENMU went 13-of-23 (56.5%) from free throw range. This marks the second game this season where they have missed 10 free throw attempts.

The wait will not be long as the Greyhounds will compete against the home squad CSU Pueblo on Saturday evening. The Thunderwolves currently sit at 5-0 after earning a win over UT Permian Basin Friday night.