PORTALES, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico men's basketball returns to Greyhound Arena after a pair of close contests against No. 21 Angelo State and UT Permian Basin last week.
The Hounds are undefeated as home this season and seek to keep it that way Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. against Midwestern State for Hispanic Heritage Night. Then, Cameron comes into town Saturday evening for a 3 p.m. game on Military Appreciation Day and Canned Food Drive Day.
Before you head to Greyhound Arena for the contests, please take a look at the Starting Five:
1.) Staying Gritty: The biggest storyline for ENMU last week came from the ability of the team to comeback from daunting deficits. Down by 19 against No. 21 Angelo State, ENMU tied the game late in the second half before falling to the Rams by three points. In a testy contest with UT Permian Basin, Eastern trailed by 16 points and brought the game to a tie in the closing seconds before UTPB connected on a pair of free throws to pull out the victory.
2.) Promotions Galore: Thursday night will feature Hispanic Heritage Night and Saturday will be Military Appreciation Day. Also, fans are encouraged to donate to our food drive to gain free admission Saturday afternoon. The nonperishable items will be donated to the new food pantry at ENMU for students of the university.
3.) Grabbing Boards: For those unfamiliar with the Greyhounds program, one player to keep your eye on is
Errol White. The junior is leading the LSC with 9.1 rebounds per contest and is a major reason why ENMU is second in total rebounding in the league. Who is ahead of Eastern? Midwestern State. The biggest deciding factor to determine the winner Thursday night could very well come down to the work on the glass between the two teams.
4.) In The Paint: Both Eastern New Mexico and Cameron enjoy scoring from the paint. In the first meeting between the two teams, ENMU edged the Aggies in the category, 32-30. In the win,
Errol White scored 15 points and
Jose Murillo added 10. One of the bigger offensive contributions came from
Jahcoree Ealy who hit 14-of-16 free throws on his way to scoring 22 points off the bench. The Aggies are also a threat from deep range as they have gone three straight contests with ten or more three-point makes.
5.) Conference Race Heating Up: ENMU sits in a tie for seventh with DBU in a tight contest for positioning in the Lone Star Conference. The Greyhounds hold a key win over Angelo State and the tiebreaker over the Patriots. Two wins this weekend will keep Eastern in the sixth or seventh spot with three weeks before the LSC tourney begins in Frisco, Texas.
