PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico men's basketball begins conference play on Thursday night against Cameron at Steve Loy Family Foundation Arena. Before the matchup, please take a look at the Starting Five Preview:
1.) Thankful for Thanksgiving: Eastern New Mexico went 2-0 at the CSU Pueblo Thanksgiving Classic. The Greyhounds beat MSU Denver (78-65) and CSU Pueblo (70-63).
Mo Austin (16 pts),
Jose Murillo (15 pts), and
Austin Abrams (13 pts) led the way offensively for the Hounds in the win over the Roadrunners.
Mika Tangermann had a season high four blocks in the win and Murillo had a career best four steals. Murillo (21 pts), Austin (18 pts),
Cooper Jackson (15 pts), and Abrams (10 pts) had nice outings for ENMU against the Thunderwolves. Murillo posted a second consecutive double double in the victory. Austin also tallied four assists, four steals, and four rebounds in the victory.
2.) National Recognition: Jose Murillo is the D2CIDA/NABC national player of the week and the Lone Star Conference defensive player of the week for his efforts in the wins over MSU Denver and CSU Pueblo. The Chihuahua, Mexico native earned 16 points, 15 rebounds, four steals, three assists, and two blocks in the matchup with the Roadrunners. In the win over the Thunderwolves, he had 21 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks, and an assist. He is now the only player in the Lone Star Conference averaging a double double.
3.) Sophomore Success: Mo Austin had an excellent outing in his hometown this weekend. The Pueblo, Colo. native had 16 points, six assists, five rebounds, and three steals in the victory over MSU Denver. He had 18 points, four rebounds, four steals, and four assists against CSU Pueblo. Most importantly, he did so in front of close to 100 family and friends both nights. Austin is currently averaging 15.5 points, 5.0 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.2 steals per game. He ranks in the top-15 in the Lone Star Conference in 10+ statistical categories. Some of those include his being ranked second in assists per contest and sixth in made field goals.
4.) Win as a Team: Eastern New Mexico ranks highly in several categories this season. They are second in the Lone Star Conference in field goal percentage defense as they limit opponents to just 39.6% of their attempts. Another strength for ENMU is rebounding and the Greyhounds currently hold a +7.7 rebounding margin which ranks third in the LSC. The program is third in the conference with 3.8 blocks per game. Eastern is fourth in the league allowing opponents to score just 65.5 points per contest.
5.) Aggies are Alert: Cameron comes into Thursday's contest with a 3-4 record. They have single digit wins over Western Colorado (90-83), New Mexico Highlands (89-81), and Southeastern Oklahoma State (111-109). The Aggies have four student-athletes scoring in double figures. Jordan Mitchell leads the way with 20.4 points per game. Mitchell is shooting 48.1% from the floor and also leads the team with 35 assists. Michael Jones is another Aggie to watch as he posts 14.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest. Cameron ranks second in the Lone Star Conference in three point percentage defense (28.3%) and third in three pointers per game (10.6). One area where they have struggled is scoring defense as they allow 89.0 points per game which is 271st in the nation.
