PORTALES, N.M. – A 16-game losing skid over West Texas A&M is over. No. 19 Eastern New Mexico men's basketball took down the Buffs, 97-89, in a home conference contest Thursday night.
"It took 40 minutes. It took every guy on the team," said head coach Daven Võ when asked what it took to earn the win. "We knew that as long as we took care of our business and rebound the ball well … we were going to win."
A season-high 97 points helped the Greyhounds earn their first win over WT in nine years. Five players scored 15+ points for Eastern in the victory.
Austin Abrams had one of his best games in his collegiate career offensively. The Maryland native went 10-for-12 from the floor and hit 3-of-4 from behind the arc. Abrams had 24 points, fours assists, three rebounds, and a steal.
"Austin (Abrams) was just killing it," emphasized Võ when asked about ENMU's offense.
Abrams boosted his points per game total to 12.2 as he bettered it from the previous 11.5 mark. He also sits as the Greyhound with the second most made three's this season with 18 total.
Cooper Jackson provided great pressure defensively, which helped him elevate his game offensively. The senior guard scored 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting. He also had four rebounds and four steals.
The Greyhounds were lights out from the field. They made 36-of-61 (59%) shots. It ties the best field goal shooting of the season as they repeated the mark from their contest against UT Dallas back in December.
Jose Murillo stayed patient in the paint all night long. WT's game plan early was to hug onto Murillo and keep him away from receiving entry passes. Instead, several fouls were committed and allowed him to earn space towards the latter half of the contest. He finished with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting and added nine rebounds. One key star for the Chihuahua, Mexico native is that he dished out three assists. Despite getting double/triple teamed, he was able to find an open Greyhound to convert on field goals.
Mo Austin and
Treyvon Byrd finished the night with 15 points each. Both went 6-for-12 from the field. Austin ran the offense well and picked up a career-high nine assists. Byrd was effective as a defensive rebounder as all nine of his rebounds came on the defensive side.
Võ and Murillo both credited the team win on their ability rebound despite losing the rebounding battle, 37-31. One might be amazed by that note, but in reality it showed that when the rebound mattered – the Greyhounds found a way. As previously mentioned, both Murillo and Byrd had nine rebounds.
One of the obvious stats to look at is ENMU's, 54-32, edge in points in the paint. Eastern was able to earn a handful of transition layups and established post moves inside with a majority of the roster.
Eastern defended the three-point shot well. WT only went 11-for-36 (30.6%) in that category. Four players ended up scoring in double figures with James Parlow Jr. holding strong with 20 points and eight assists.
Murillo also credited the win because of his teammates on the bench. He gave a shoutout to guard
Jaden Clarke for always uplifting the Greyhounds and being willing to be the person who keeps everyone energized. Despite Clarke not playing in the game, Murillo still recognized him for his vital job to root the team to victory.
Eastern New Mexico will now have a tough test next week at home as they battle DBU at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 29. More information can be found on www.goeasternathletics.com