Box Score The NMHU Men's Basketball team fell just short of winning their second game of the RMAC season, as the Orediggers of the Colorado School of Mines pulled out the 89-84 victory in an overtime thriller on 12/1, in Las Vegas, N.M. The Cowboys had four players score in double digits but they also suffered from foul trouble that limited their options late in the game. With the loss the Cowboys, led by Head Coach Joe Harge, fall to a 1-1 conference record and 3-2 in overall play.
The Orediggers took the initial lead in the game and they controlled the score for the first five minutes of play. The Cowboys quickly composed themselves and stormed back to take the lead just seven minutes into the contest before Mines could regain the momentum. The Orediggers were back in front with just 6:43 left in the half and they maintained that lead for the remainder of the first half. When the buzzer sounded to signal halftime, the Orediggers took a 40-36 lead into the locker-room.
The Orediggers kept their lead for the majority of the second half, including their largest lead of 12 points with 14:58 remaining in the half. The Cowboys never stopped fighting in the game, but Mines was able to hold them off until the final minutes of regulation. With just 48 seconds left in the second half the Cowboys finally went ahead by two points, 74-72, thanks to clutch shooting from the free-throw line by
Augustus French. The Cowboys looked to be able to grab the victory at the end of the second half until the Orediggers' Trey Winbush hit two free-throw shots of his own with just 33 seconds left. When the buzzer sounded to end regulation the score was tied up at 74 apiece and the game was headed into overtime.
Mines took the lead at the beginning of overtime, but the Cowboys went up by one point when
Mannie Cass made a lay-up and then converted the three-point play from the charity stripe. Unfortunately the Orediggers were able to regain the lead and they would not relinquish their advantage. The Cowboys tried their best to grab the victory, closing to within two points with just 18 seconds left on the clock, but Mines' players hit some big free-throw shots down the stretch to close out the game. When the final buzzer sounded, Mines had come away with the win 89-84.
The Cowboys had four players score in double digits in a valiant effort against the Orediggers.
Mannie Cass led the Cowboys in scoring with 26 points. Cass shot an impressive 9-11 from the field and added four rebounds, an assist, and a steal in his 35 minutes on the court.
Lionel Coleman scored 14 points in his 25 minutes of playing time. He was 6-9 from the field and 2-3 from beyond the three-point arc.
Lavell McDade once again led the Cowboys' offense on the court. McDade played 43 minutes and finished with 13 points, six assists, four rebounds, and two steals.
Roland Fitch rounded out the Cowboys' scoring leaders with 10 points. Fitch was a perfect 4-4 from the free-throw line and led the Cowboys with seven rebounds.
Personal fouls hurt the Cowboys against the Orediggers. Several of the Cowboys had to play through foul trouble and Mines made them pay from the charity stripe, converting 38 of their 51 attempts.
The Cowboys will continue conference action again on 12/7 when the head to Gunnison, Colo. to take on the Mountaineers of Western State Colorado University. The Mountaineers are currently in fifth place in the RMAC with a 2-0 conference record and 3-3 in overall play. If you can't make the trip to Gunnison to watch the Cowboys in action, you can click
HERE to follow the game via streaming live stats. You can also click
HERE to watch the game live on the America One Network.
GO COWBOYS!!!
