PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico men's basketball is back on the road for a road game against in-state foe Western New Mexico. Before ENMU hits the floor in Silver City, please take a look at the Starting Five:

1.) Two Wins One Week: Eastern New Mexico won both conference games over a weekend stretch since they welcomed Oklahoma Christian and Cameron to begin conference play. ENMU posted wins over Angelo State (82-62) and UT Permian Basin (83-80). The victories were aided by strong shooting offensively as Eastern hit 57% or more of their shots in both contests. In the win over ASU, the Hounds had three players in double figures. Jose Murillo had a nice night in the paint with 21 points on 7-of-7 shooting. The junior forward picked up five rebounds and four assists in the victory. Five different Hounds scored in double figures over UTPB. Cougar Downing continued a strong week of play with 16 points and two steals in the win over the Falcons. Eastern New Mexico sits in a tie for sixth in conference standings after the wins over the weekend. With five conference games remaining, nine teams in the league have nine or more wins in LSC play.

2.) Defensive Honors: Junior guard Cooper Jackson was recognized as the Lone Star Conference defensive player of the week after an excellent week for ENMU. Jackson had a combined 16 points and nine steals. He posted six steals alone in the win over UT Permian Basin. It marked his fourth time this season with six or more steals. The Kansas native has a conference-best 54 total steals despite playing in just 15 games this year. He has at least one steal in all, but one game this season. Jackson did not appear in the Hounds win earlier this season against the Mustangs. The guard has played in four-straight contests for ENMU and the team is 11-4 overall when Jackson plays.

3.) Through The Net: The Greyhounds are fifth in the nation with a 51.9% field goal percentage. They have shot above 50% in eight of the last nine games. All nine of those contests have come in Lone Star Conference play. Last time against WNMU, the program went 37-of-64 (57.8%) from the field. Junior forward Jose Murillo is fourth in the nation making 70% of his total shots. Murillo was 14-of-15 from the field over the last two games as he averaged 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in the victories over ASU and UTPB. Also shooting at an excellent clip is senior Mario Whitley. He is making 51.9% of his shots and ranks sixth in the conference in that category. Whitley leads the team with 14.6 points per contest.

4.) Mustangs Rewind: Eastern New Mexico beat Western New Mexico earlier this season, 101-72. The win featured five Greyhounds scoring in double figures. Jose Murillo scored 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting. He ended up making all five of his free throw attempts and blocking two shots. Mario Whitley had 18 points and 11 rebounds in the victory. Guards Cougar Downing and Mo Austin both finished with 14 points. Downing hit three three-point shots in the home win. Lastly, DI transfer Austin Abrams posted ten points on 4-of-5 shooting. WNMU was well supported by their leading scorer Matthew Okoye who finished the contest with 31 points knocking down six three-pointers and nine free throws. The Greyhounds dominated the rebounding battle, 47-29. Another key portion of ENMU's game was their ability to put up 48 points in the paint and hold the lead for the entirety of the contest. WNMU also was limited to their third worst field goal shooting performance of the season as they went 21-of-67 from the floor. In total, thirteen Greyhounds appeared in the game for Eastern.

5.) All About Western: Western New Mexico has lost five-straight games. Three of the losses have come by single digits. The Mustangs are 2-8 in home games this season with their most recent victory coming against Texas A&M-Kingsville. WNMU is looking to surpass their win total from last season as they also had four victories in 2023-24. One of the team's top contributors is Carson Kelly. He leads the team with 63 assists, a 91% clip from the free throw line, and plays 34.7 minutes per game. Donovan Black is the top rebounder for Western with 108 total boards. Backup forward Yves Nkomba has swatted a team-high 17 shots, including one per game in four of the last five contests. WNMU does rank last in several statistical categories among conference foes including assists (9.4), field goal percentage (39.2%), rebound margin (-4.5), scoring margin (-13.4), scoring offense (64.6), steals (5.2), and turnovers (15.8).