Cowboys look to avenge season-opening loss to WNMU

LAS VEGAS, N.M. --- The New Mexico Highlands men's basketball team looks to avenge a season-opening loss where the Cowboys lost a 17-point, second-half lead as they travel to take on Western New Mexico 6 p.m. Wednesday at Drag's Court in Silver City.

THE COWBOYS COMING INTO THIS WEEK | SEASON STATS
The Cowboys are coming off a 1-1 weekend to open the season in Albuquerque, falling to WNMU 81-75 at The University of New Mexico's Davalos Center on Friday and beating Eastern New Mexico 87-76 on Saturday at Dreamstyle Arena.

In the loss to Mustangs, the Cowboys' press was giving the Mustangs fits as they built a 17-point lead with 16:44 remaining in the contest. But early fouls by NMHU in the second half put WNMU in the bonus at the 16-minute mark while the foul trouble caused the Cowboys to have to pull their press and WNMU eventually fell by six points. Gerad Davis finished with 28 points and eight rebounds before fouling out while Raquan Mitchell added 16 points.

In the win over Eastern New Mexico, the Cowboys bounced back from a 41-40 halftime deficit with a strong second half to beat the Greyhounds by 11 points. Four players finished in double figures for the Cowboys led by Jordan Jones' 24 points as he went 4-for-7 from 3-point range. Davis finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and three steals, D.J. Bustos had 13 points and four rebounds, Mitchell battled foul trouble but still finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists while Nnamdi Okoro had eight points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots.

ABOUT WESTERN NEW MEXICO | SEASON STATS
The Mustangs are off to a 2-0 start for the first time in 11 years after beating the Cowboys on Friday and Fort Lewis 74-70 on Saturday in Albuquerque.

In the win over the Cowboys, Leston Gordon led the Mustangs with 19 points, 11 rebounds thre assists and two blocks - going 8-for-11 from the field. Willie McCray added 17 points thanks to going 10-for-14 from the free-throw line, while Jon-Reeese Woodson finished with 11 points.

While the deficit wasn't as large, the Mustangs again rallied in the second half as it trailed by six points with less than five minutes left before outscoring Fort Lewis 16-6 over the final four minutes to pick up the victory. Woodson led the team with 15 points while CJ Vanbeekum and McCray had 12 points while Tony Avalos had 11 points.

RECENT HISTORY VERSUS WNMU
The Cowboys went 2-0 against the Mustangs last season, beating WNMU in Albuquerque 85-81 and 91-78 in Las Vegas. The loss in the season opener broke the Cowboys' six-game winning streak over the Mustangs - last losing to WNMU in February of 2015.