Eastern New Mexico University's men's basketball team secured an 83-63 victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday in Alva, Oklahoma. The win marks the Greyhounds' third consecutive victory and brings their nonconference record to 3-1.
Head coach Daven Võ praised his team's performance, saying, "We did what we needed to do to come out with a road win. We had good leadership out there from the guys."
The game was notable for the absence of senior forward Jose Murillo, who missed his first contest in four seasons due to injury. Coach Võ addressed Murillo's absence: "He's so dominant for us. We have never played without Jose (Murillo) on the floor. We feel good with our group in Mika Tangermann and Modibo Sanogo. There was no drop off and we followed the same game plan." Tangermann started in Murillo's place and contributed 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting along with four rebounds.
Eastern New Mexico controlled the rebounding margin, collecting 38 boards compared to Northwestern Oklahoma State's 20. The Greyhounds also dominated offensive rebounding, grabbing 18 compared to their opponent’s five, which led to 20 second-chance points.
Sophomore point guard Mo Austin led all scorers with 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting, playing 35 minutes and adding three steals and two assists. Coach Võ commented on Austin’s impact: "Mo (Austin) is just a force. He maximizes everything and chooses to do that every single day."
Cooper Jackson added 11 points, five assists, five rebounds, and four steals for Eastern New Mexico. Ten players scored for the Greyhounds during the game. Redshirt sophomore Alex Alfaro contributed six points and two rebounds off the bench.
Treyvon Byrd also made an impact with eight points, seven rebounds, and two steals as ENMU maintained a fast pace against a Northwestern Oklahoma State team known for strong play inside.
Eastern New Mexico will continue its season at the Thanksgiving Classic hosted by CSU Pueblo, facing MSU Denver on Friday and CSU Pueblo on Saturday.
