FRISCO, Texas – Eastern New Mexico men's basketball is headed to the 2026 Lone Star Conference tournament championship game after a 101-85 win over (3) No. 8 Lubbock Christian on Saturday afternoon. The win ties the school record for most wins in program history.

"Our guys shot the basketball well," said head coach Daven Võ after the win. "I'm so proud of our team. They stepped up."

Eastern New Mexico scored above the century mark for just the second time this season and made a season-high 11 three-pointers against the nationally ranked Chaps. The Hounds were led offensively by senior guard Cooper Jackson who had a career-high 35 points on 11-for-14 shooting from the floor.

The Lawrence, Kan. native did not fret to shoot the ball at all. He made 6-of-8 from three-point range. It is the most three's  made by a Greyhound since Jackson's cousin Cougar Downing hit six trey's in a contest with Angelo State (2/6/2025). The senior beat out his previous career-high mark by 10 points. His previous high was 25 points in a win over Western New Mexico earlier this season.

"Good," said Jackson when asked about how he felt today in the game. "Today was just my night."

He complimented his teammates for their efforts and spoke further on how they played for each other throughout the game. "When you have teammates who trust you all the way down and a good coaching staff that allow you to be that type of player it is great to go out and play like that."

Jackson is the first 30-point scorer for ENMU since Mario Whitley had 32 points in a road win over Sul Ross State during the 2024-25 season. It is the most points from a Greyhound since Jahcoree Ealy scored 42 points in a road victory over DBU in December 2023.

For a 10th straight game, Eastern New Mexico has shot above 50% from the floor. Coming into the week, the Greyhounds were ranked second nationally in field goal shooting percentage. Now, they are first in the nation with a 51.8% mark from the floor.

The reason they are so effective scoring is that they take high percentage shots and rely on going into the paint first. They won the battle in the paint, 42-38, against a Chaps squad that also aims to score easy buckets near the basket.

Austin Abrams finished with the second most points for Eastern New Mexico. The junior guard notched 20 points on a night where he shot the ball extremely well. Abrams was 8-for-14 from the floor, including connecting on 4-of-7 from deep range. The Maryland native took control of the game in the opening half as he scored 13 points with three of his three-pointers coming in the period.

Sophomore Mo Austin had an excellent game as he secured a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double. It is his third double-double of the season and first since a road victory over West Texas A&M. Austin helped the Greyhounds win the rebounding battle, 35-30. One of the more impressive stats for the Pueblo, Colo. native is that he drew seven fouls. He did not shoot well from the charity stripe, but he stayed true to his game and made sure to stay true to the goal – a shot at the conference title.

"I got to give credit to my teammates for boxing out," said Mo Austin when asked about his game-high rebounding mark. "Without them doing their job I am not able to go up and clean it up."

Jose Murillo (12 pts) and Treyvon Byrd (11 pts) also scored in double figures for Eastern New Mexico. One area where Murillo excelled is that he had his second-best assist mark of the season. The Chihuahua, Mexico native dished out five assists on a day where he did not control the game offensively like he has most of his collegiate career.

One bench player who stood out for Eastern today was freshman Mika Tangermann. The German secured four rebounds, two assists, two points, a steal, and a block in just 15 minutes of action. He allowed Eastern to stretch the floor and created a tough task for LCU's bigs.

The Chaps were aided by conference player of the year Amondo Miller Jr. (23 pts) and newcomer of the year Antonio Pusateri (21 pts). The most prolific shooter for LCU was Kendall Dow who connected on three trey's on his way to 17 total points. Lastly, Lucas Mercandino joined the bunch for LCU in double figures with 13 points.

Eastern New Mexico led by as many as 20 points and allowed Lubbock Christian to only hold an advantage as high as two points for just 31 seconds.

It's the third time Eastern New Mexico will advance to the conference tournament final. ENMU is a perfect 2-0 in the title game and will look to achieve their second title crown over the last three seasons.

The Greyhounds will face DBU tomorrow afternoon with first tip slated for 1 p.m. CT at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas.