Box Score LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The Cowboys have trailed with less than 10 seconds in regulation in all six games at the John A. Wilson Complex this season.
They are 3-3 such games.
New Mexico Highlands University (8-6, 5-5 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) scored seven points in the final 14 seconds to knock off Adams State (7-5, 4-5 RMAC) 90-87 Saturday night (Jan. 11).
Down by four with 14 ticks remaining, senior
Mannie Cass measured up a triple while being fouled. He made the ensuing free throw and knotted the game for only the second time in the second half. Adams State's Lee Lark then fumbled the ball and freshman
Alex Dantzler came up with the steal and was fouled. Dantzel missed both from the charity stripe, but the Grizzlies Jaree Crawford was whistled for being in the lane early on the second try. Dantzel drained the third chance, giving the Cowboys its first lead of the second half.
Defensive pressure again came up big as the visitor's Juwann Buchanan threw an errant pass that found senior
Stargell Love. He sank both free throws with one second left, and Adams State did not even get a shot off.
Five different Cowboys tallied double-digit points in the win. Cass led all scorers with 21 points and three blocks. Love went 3-4 from the field and 8-10 from the charity stripe for 15 points with eight dimes. Senior
Stuart Sullivan helped Highlands hang in the game with a perfect 6-6 mark from the charity stripe and 14 points.
Senior
Dominick Baca scored 13 points and a team-best six boards while sophomore
Drew Martin came off the bench for 12 points.
Adams State led by as much as seven in the first half, but a trio of alley-oops kept the Cowboys close. With Highlands trailing 28-25, Love threw a perfect pass from mid-court to Martin, who slammed it with authority. Adams State had its ensuing shot rejected by junior
Augustus French, who grabbed the board and found Baca. Baca threw the ball up for junior
Javerik Nelson, whose slam gave the Cowboys their first lead since the opening minutes.
Later in the half, Love picked up a steal and threw the ball up for Martin, who dunked it to cut the deficit to 38-36. The Cowboys came within one with three minutes left, but Highlands failed to score the rest of the half as Adams State took a 46-41 lead into intermission.
Adams State scored right out of break, but triples by redshirt freshman
Justin Bustos and Sullivan quickly cut the deficit to one. The visitors led 81-74 with 2:46 left, but four makes from the line and a lay-up by Baca off a Sullivan steal cut the deficit to one with 1:19 left.
The Cowboys trailed 85-82 with a minute left but scored eight of the final 10 points for the come-from-behind victory. Just barely above 50 percent from the line yesterday, Highlands kept the game within striking distance with a 31-40 mark (77.5 percent) mark from the charity stripe against the Grizzlies.
Adams State led for most of the game thanks to a 26-20 edge in fast break points and a 42-30 advantage on the glass. Mike Hemsley paced the Grizzlies with a double-double of 17 points and 12 boards. Buchanan had 15, Kenny Morgan added 14 and Lark finished with 12 points.
New Mexico Highlands takes to the road for the first time in 2014 when it travels to Chadron State on Friday (Jan. 17) at 8 p.m.
