Box Score ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. --- The New Mexico Highlands men's basketball team lost a double-digit second half lead and fell to Western New Mexico 81-75 Friday afternoon at the Rudy Davalos Basketball Center at The University of New Mexico.
Foul trouble (the Cowboys committed 32 fouls to the Mustangs' 21 and had three players foul out) that caused the Cowboys to pull out of a press that gave the Mustangs fits and struggles from beyond the arc (shot 1-for-15 from 3-point range in the second half) hurt NMHU (0-1) as it saw a 17-point, second-half lead go away.
"We put them on the line too much and that just can't happen," NMHU coach
Craig Snow said. "I thought our guys played hard. Our guys had some good looks in the second half – and I don't even know how many open looks we had that just didn't go down. But we'll get better and bounce back. We have a tough group."
The Cowboys trailed the Mustangs (1-0) 33-27 with under four minutes left in the first half before NMHU went on a 14-1 run to end the first half thanks to its press to take a 41-34 advantage at the break.
The NMHU lead continued to grow in the second half a three-point play by
D.J. Bustos and a
Raquan Mitchell bucket made it 57-40 Cowboys with 16:44 remaining.
The Cowboys still led by 15 points with 13:38 remaining before WNMU slowly chipped away at the lead. A pair of free throws by the Mustangs with 10:30 left cut the NMHU lead to single digits at 67-58 – but the Cowboys still clung to a 71-64 lead with 6:04 left after a
Gerad Davis basket.
That's when the Mustangs went on a 9-0 run capped with a Leston Gordon putback dunk with 3:19 left to give WNMU their first lead since the first half at 73-71. NMHU tied it one more time, but the Mustangs took the lead for good at the 2:18 mark as the Cowboys dropped their home opener.
Davis paced the Cowboys with 28 points, eight rebounds and three steals while Mitchell finished with 16 points, six rebounds and two steals. The Cowboys shot 39.7 percent from the field and were just 11-for-19 (57.9 percent) from the free-throw line.
Gordon led WNMU with 19 points to go along with 11 rebounds. The Mustangs shot 41.5 percent from the field – including 51.9 percent in the second half – and were 3-for-17 from 3-point range and 24-for-37 (64.9 percent) from the charity stripe.
The Cowboys return to action in Albuquerque 3 p.m. Saturday as they take on Eastern New Mexico at Dreamstyle Arena.
