PORTALES, N.M. – To win a collegiate basketball game, there are a few moments that can play a vital role for a program. On Thursday night at Greyhound Arena, Eastern New Mexico men's basketball had several key outcomes to give them a 105-84 win over Cameron.
"We came out and played really well to start the game," said head coach
Brent Owen after the century-mark win. "We felt like we could get out in transition as long as we rebound."
The start proved to be one of those factors that played a major emphasis on tonight's result. ENMU took the lead 17 seconds into the game and never looked back. They led by as many as 23 points and finished with a 21-point victory.
Another notable stat was the fact Eastern New Mexico outrebounded the Aggies, 51-34. CU came into Greyhound Arena as the program with the most efficient percentage of offensive rebounds. Although ENMU gave up 16 offensive rebounds to the visitor's, they still managed to focus on getting two hands on the ball and every player kept that as a point of emphasis.
The leading rebounder for CU had five boards. For comparison, six Greyhounds hauled in five or more rebounds in the game.
Jose Murillo became just the second Hound all-time to go a perfect 9-for-9 from the field or better. The last player to do so was Mikal Monette who accomplished the feat twice in 2006. Monette holds the single game field goal percentage record with a 10-for-10 clip.
"My teammates gave me 1v1 opportunities with the post guy," said Murillo on the game. "Those created higher percentage shots."
On the night, Eastern outscored Cameron, 52-38, in the paint. The posts for ENMU combined for 33 points with Murillo leading the way with 21 total.
Over the last two games, two Hounds have made a significant impact on the court.
Senior
Jason Holman played 11 minutes in the win. He went 1-for-2 from behind the arc and hauled in a pair of rebounds.
"I have been putting up work with coach Grady in the gym and staying ready to go," said Holman after the win. "I think we played good as a team."
Guard
Junior Hodnett has also stepped up on both ends of the court over his last two appearances. Tonight, his number was called early as
Mario Whitley picked up two early fouls. The Rio Rancho, N.M. native got off to a blazing start and made the most of his 26 minutes of action. He scored a career-best 21 points and finished with five assists.
"We have to sweep both home games and we started off hot," said Hodnett on the importance of the home weekend. "As a team we kept it on the entire game and once we took the lead we held it the entire game."
Three other Greyhounds joined Murillo and Hodnett in double figures. Senior
Jahcoree Ealy scored 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including the bucket to get ENMU over the century mark for the sixth time in 2023-24.
Guards,
Lyron Bennett and
Tre'Von Love both had 11 points and were effective ball handlers with a combined nine assists and one turnover. The pair went 3-for-4 from deep range and held Cameron's three starting guards to a combined 28 points.
Over the week, a big mark to note was second chance points. ENMU won that battle fairly convincingly, 29-17.
The Greyhounds final key to winning big at home was field goal percentage. Eastern went 37-for-67 (55.2%) from the floor. This marks the fourth time this year that the Hounds have connected on at least 55% of their shot attempts.
ENMU will now set their focus on Midwestern State. The Mustangs are coming off a road win over Western New Mexico and hold a 4-4 nod in conference action.
Free entry to the game at 3 p.m. will be given to those who donate at least three nonperishable items for the program's food drive. For more information, please visit goeasternathletics.com