PORTALES, N.M. – No. 23 St. Mary's earned a 63-54 win over No. 19 Eastern New Mexico on Thursday night at Steve Loy Family Foundation Arena.

"We stormed back from being down nine at half," said head coach Daven Võ after the contest. "We have a lot of basketball ahead of us and a lot more room to grow."

The matchup saw two defensive-minded programs force tough shot selections and limit scoring. StMU scored their second least amount of points this season and ENMU marked their season low by 14 points.

It was not a night for offense on either side as the Rattlers made 39.3% of their shots from the field. The Greyhounds came into the night leading the LSC in field goal percentage (50.2%) only connected on 36.5% of their attempts. Eastern only had two players score in double figures on the night – it marks the first time since Dec. 7, 2024.

St. Mary's also tied the overall series with the Greyhounds, 4-4, including a second-straight road win in the matchup.

For a second-straight game, Jose Murillo struggled from the floor by shooting less than 50%. Murillo scored seven points and pulled in nine rebounds. Guards Mo Austin and Austin Abrams had 11 points each.

The possession battle was a struggle for ENMU as they committed 18 total turnovers allowing StMU to score 19 points from those chances. Cooper Jackson led the Greyhounds with six turnovers. Jackson could not pressure the Rattlers attack in the same way he has challenged opponents all season long. He finished the night with nine points, three assists, and only one steal.

Eastern relied on the three-point shot more often than they have in other contests. They went 7-of-21 in that department and got back into the game midway through the second half because of a handful of crucial three-point makes. Abrams connected on 3-of-4 from behind the arc. On the contrary, one of the team's better shooters, Elijah Hollins went 1-for-6 from distance.

Eastern ended up holding the lead for just under ten minutes in the contest, but two different runs towards the end of each half helped separate StMU as the team to come away with victory.

ENMU will have a quick turnaround as they face No. 17 St. Edward's on Saturday afternoon at home. Tip is slated for 3 p.m.