LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The Mavericks hit their first six threes in the game and built a 20-point lead, but the Cowboys cut it to one in the second half but could not overcome a 13-22 mark from the charity stripe as New Mexico Highlands (4-18, 4-14 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) fell to Colorado Mesa (17-7, 12-6 RMAC) 84-73 Friday night (Feb. 13) in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
The Mavericks ran out to a 25-5 lead early in the first half thanks to hitting nine of their first 10 shots from beyond the arc, but the Cowboys went on a huge run in the second half to eventually tie the game. Trailing 50-34 with 18:25 left in the game, Highlands scored nine unanswered to bring the game back to single digits. Junior
Amal Wilson split from the line and classmate
Charles George hit a layup after a missed three by Colorado Mesa. Sophomore
Ricky Norris hit a jumper and sophomore
Justin Bustos drained a triple. Norris split from the line as the Cowboys pulled within 50-43 with 15:19 left in the game.
Trailing 57-49, the Cowboys went on a 10-2 run for the only tie of the game. Junior
Jonathon Mines nailed a triple before Norris grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for the layup to pull within one possession. Colorado Mesa answered back with a jumper, but Bustos nailed a triple to cut the deficit to two. Junior
Kendrick Nichols grabbed a defensive rebound and tossed it to Norris for the layup to tie the score.
The Cowboys trailed 67-66 and Mines was shooting a 1-and-1 in attempt to give Highlands their first lead of the game, but after the timeout, Mines bricked the attempt and Colorado Mesa cleaned the boards. The Mavericks led by two late before closing the game on a 9-0 run to claim the double-digit win.
Highlands could not overcome its first half shooting woes as the Cowboys only went 9-33 (27.3 percent) from the field. In the second, Highlands hit 17-33 (51.5 percent) from the field to tie the game. Mines had 18 points while Norris chipped in 15.
The Mavericks wasted no time and scored the games first 12 points. Ryan Stephan opened with a triple before Landon Vermeer got in the act. He hit a triple before popping a fastbreak three. He then hit his third triple in a row as Colorado Mesa led 12-0 less than three minutes in.
Julian Vasquez came off the bench to score a game high 27 points. Landon Vermeer went 5-6 from beyond the arc for 25 points while Stephan chipped in 22.
The Cowboys play their final home game Saturday (Feb. 14), looking to finish the season sweep of Western State. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
