PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico men's basketball is back home for the final two games at Steve Loy Family Foundation Arena this season. Before ENMU hosts the first of two contests this weekend, please take a look at the Starting Five:

1.) Glory on the Road: Eastern New Mexico won its sixth road game of the season last Saturday against Sul Ross State. The 97-84 win propelled ENMU to its most road victories since 2006. The effort was aided by a career-high 32 points from senior Mario Whitley. In total, four Greyhounds scored in double figures in the win. Eastern outscored the home side, 54-36, in the first half after shooting 59.4% from the floor. Sul Ross State would make a little push to get the game within nine points late in the second half, but that is as close as the contest would get as ENMU pulled off the 13-point result.

2.) Shooters Shoot: Five Greyhounds average eleven or more points per game. Leading the way is Mario Whitley with 15.5 points per contest. The others include Jose Murillo (13.6 ppg), Cougar Downing (12.4 ppg), Treyvon Byrd (12.0 ppg), and Jaden Clarke (11.0 ppg). Whitley has scored in double figures in 19 different games this season and has five games with 20+ points scored. Downing leads the Lone Star Conference in three point shooting percentage. He has made 56-of-122 (45.9%) of his attempts from deep range. Downing has 14 games this season where he has made two or more three-point shots. Murillo leads the conference and is fourth nationally with a 70.3% shooting percentage. The Hounds as a team rank fifth nationally with a 51.9% mark from the floor.

3.) Top Half Battle: Both St. Edward's and Eastern New Mexico rank in the top half of the Lone Star Conference men's basketball standings. ENMU sits in fifth after becoming the fifth team this season to record 12 conference wins. SEU is sixth as they are the only 11-win team in the conference who have four league games left to play. Most programs in the LSC have played at least one of their contests against their "travel partner," but that is not the case for SEU. Lubbock Christian and Midwestern State are the other two teams who have not played at least one of their "travel partner" games. All teams ahead of ENMU have at least 14 wins in league play. Both SEU and ENMU are on winning-streaks with the Hilltoppers winning their last three contests and the Hounds victorious in their last four games.

4.) Knowing SEU: St. Edward's is one of the best offensive teams in the Lone Star Conference. The Hilltoppers score the third most points in the league at 80.1 per contest. Five players for SEU score in double figures. They include Gavino Ramos (13.7 ppg), Lewis Rowe (13.0 ppg), Jamison Kay (11.5 ppg), Blake Nielsen (11.3 ppg), and Mason Courtney (10.2 ppg). Ramos is one of the best guards in the league as he leads the Hilltoppers with 123 assists and 40 steals. He has connected on 47-of-137 (34.3%) from three point range. Three SEU student-athletes have made 45 or more three pointers this season. As a team, St. Edward's leads the conference with a 39.2% clip from three-point range. The program shares the ball well as they lead the LSC with 17.3 assists per game. One area that the visitors do not specialize in is fastbreak points. ENMU leads that category with 21.04 points per game in fastbreak, while SEU is only earning 8.96 points per game in transition. Another focus point is that their defense is allowing opponents to make 45.2% of their shots from the floor per game. That currently ranks twelfth among LSC programs.

5.) Monitoring History: St. Edward's holds a 6-3 series advantage over Eastern New Mexico. ENMU did beat SEU in the last contest between the two conference opponents. Eastern had its largest victory by margin in series history with a 103-70 win back in November 2023. Mario Whitley and Jose Murillo combined for 16 points, 14 rebounds, and six blocks in the win. ENMU scored 48 points in the paint and had 22 second chance points in the victory from last season. The Hounds are 1-1 in Portales against the Hilltoppers. Prior to the win in 2023, SEU had won six-straight over Eastern. In the loss from a year ago, Ramos carried his team offensively with 25 points, three assists, and three steals. He made three three-pointers in the game. St. Edward's was limited to just seven total points from their bench. The 33-point loss was the largest for SEU during the entire season and the biggest deficit since a loss to DBU in the 2016-17 season.