EVANSVILLE, Ind. --- The New Mexico Highlands men's basketball team started strong, but eventually fell to Evansville 83-61 in an exhibition game Saturday at the Ford Center.
The Cowboys jumped out to a 15-9 lead after a
Gerad Davis bucket with 12:26 remaining in the contest. But a 13-0 run by the Purple Aces over the next five minutes gave Evansville a 22-15 advantage – a run that was ended by a
D.J. Bustos 3-pointer with 7:08 left in the first half.
NMHU trailed 36-27 at the half before the Purple Aces started the second half on a 15-1 and pulled away.
Davis led the team with 20 points to go along with seven rebounds and three steals.
Raquan Mitchell, who battled foul trouble in the first half, finished with 15 points and five rebounds while
Jordan Jones had 12 points.
Nnamdi Okoro had a team-best 11 rebounds.
The Cowboys finished the game shooting 34.3 percent from the field, including just 21.7 percent (5-for-23) from 3-point range. NMHU did outrebound the Purple Aces 48-35, including grabbing 23 offensive rebounds.
NMHU opens the season in Albuquerque next week as the Cowboys take on Western New Mexico 3 p.m. Friday at the Davalos Basketball Center (practice facility for The University of New Mexico – connected to Dreamstyle Arena) and play Eastern New Mexico 3 p.m. Saturday at Dreamstyle Arena.
