LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The Cowboys led by as much as five with less than four minutes left before half, but an 8-1 run to end the stanza gave the Orediggers the lead for good and the visitors outscored the Cowboys by 10 in the second half as the New Mexico Highlands men's basketball team (0-5, 0-2 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) lost to Colorado School of Mines (6-0, 2-0 RMAC) 78-66 Saturday night at the Wilson Complex.
Trailing 21-16 with 9:15 remaining in the first half, a 14-4 run gave Highlands a 5-point lead, its largest of the game. Junior
Amal Wilson started the spurt with a putback off a miss followed by a layup by junior
Kendrick Nichols after Highlands forced an Orediggers offensive foul. Junior
Charles George put the Cowboys back in the lead with a fastbreak layup. Colorado School of Mines quickly retook the lead, but George put the Cowboys back in the lead off a fastbreak started by a defensive rebound by junior
Jonathon Mines. George, Wilson and junior
Kaylen Shane all split from the line to push the lead to four. The Orediggers answered with a layup, but Nichols hit a triple to push the Cowboys to a 30-25 lead with 3:47 remaining in the first half.
Mines scored a season-best 20 points while Nichols chipped in 19. Shane added a game-best nine boards. The Cowboys outrebounded the Orediggers 38-24; however, Colorado School of Mines countered with a 20-19 lead in defensive rebounds as the Orediggers shot 61.2 percent (30-49) for the game, including a hot 80 percent (16-20) in the second half.
Down by five late in the first half, the Orediggers went to work to retake the lead. Gokul Natesan split from the line and Caleb Waitsmen – who just missed a double-double with 22 points and seven boards – added a pair of layups to tie the game at 30. Wilson split from the line for the Cowboys, by Natesan hit a triple to give the visitors a 33-31 lead at the break.
The Orediggers only went eight deep as five players reached double digits. Besides Waitsmen's near double-double, Trevor Ritchie narrowly missed a double-double with 17 points and eight assists (against just two turnovers). Garrett Loew came off the bench for 10 points and three dimes.
Trailing 49-43 with 14 minutes left, Mines hit a three and sophomore
Justin Bustos made a layup. Highlands was able to get a stop, but a turnover led to a fastreak layup by the Orediggers' Brian Muller off a steal jumpstarted a 11-3 spurt. Ritchie hit a jumper before Nichols cut the deficit back to three with a triple. Muller answered with his own three and a pair of layups by Waitsman put the Orediggers up 60-51 with 8:39 left in the game. The Cowboys climbed within 72-66 with 49 seconds left, but Colorado School of Mines hit all six free throws down the stretch to seal the game.
The Cowboys return to action Friday (Dec. 12) at Western State. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
