Box Score The NMHU Cowboys extended their winning streak to three straight on 12/10 with a buzzer beating victory over the Mavericks of Colorado Mesa University by a final score of 81-79. The Cowboys and the Mavericks battled the entire game as there would be fifteen lead changes throughout the course of play. In the first half CMU would have the advantage as they jumped on top of the Cowboys early leading 20-13 at the ten minute mark. The Cowboys would close that margin slightly as the Mavericks would lead 37-31 at halftime. The second half of play would be totally different as the Cowboys battled back to tie it up at 37-37 within the first minute of play coming out of the break. There would be eleven lead changes in the second half as each team battled every play in this heated RMAC rivalry game. In the final minute of play the Mavericks would lead 77-74.
Aaryon Williams would pull the Cowboys within one after slashing through the lane for an easy lay-up making the score 77-76. The teams would then trade possessions until CMU's Mike Melillo drained a two point jumper to regain the Mavericks three point lead 79-76. On the next possession,
Billy Austin would drain a three point bucket to knot the score up at 79-79. After a NMHU timeout
Aaryon Williams would pull down a rebound off of a missed CMU jumper and dish it to
Billy Austin as Austin became the hero for night by draining a bucket just before the buzzer to put the Cowboys up for good 81-79 for the win. With the win, the Cowboys improve to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in RMAC play.
“This was a great win for our team. We had to fight through some adversity tonight, but came out on top. Our guys did an excellent job”, said NMHU Head Coach Joe Harge after his team's emotional win. Tonight's win over CMU is the first Cowboy victory over the Mavericks during the Harge era.
The star performer for the Cowboys was
Billy Austin. Not only did Austin seal the Cowboys win over CMU with his buzzer beating jumper, he also led the Pokes in scoring with 22 points on the night. Austin also added in four rebounds, three assists and two steals to his night's totals.
Marcus Williams finished the night with an impressive defensive performance racking up seven steals for the Cowboys. Williams also had 17 points and two rebounds on the night.
Momcilo Latinovic rounds out the top performers for the Cowboys with a solid all-around performance. Latinovic finished the night with 14 points, three rebounds and one steal in his 20 minutes of playing time.
The Cowboys will hit the road to travel to Colorado Springs, Colo. to take on the Mountain Lions of the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (2-8; 1-3 RMAC) on 12/16. If you can't make the trip to Colorado Springs to watch your Cowboys in action, you can always watch them live on the America One Network. Click
HERE for more information on how you can watch your Cowboys live on the America One Network.
GO COWBOYS!!!
