Cowboys overcome early shooting woes, beat CSU-Pueblo

LAS VEGAS, N.M. --- Cold shooting from beyond the arc to start the game saw the New Mexico Highlands men's basketball team fall behind CSU-Pueblo 19-8 nine minutes into the contest.
 
But defense kept the Cowboys in it long enough for the shots to start falling as NMHU bounced back for an 89-84 victory over the ThunderWolves in their RMAC opener Saturday night at Wilson Complex.
 
NMHU (5-1 overall, 1-0 RMAC), which has won five games in a row, forced CSU-Pueblo (2-5, 0-1) into 21 turnovers while only committing seven of their own – helping the Cowboys outscore the ThunderWolves 24-10 on points off turnovers as the NMHU press continues to improve.
 
The Cowboys, the top scoring team in the RMAC averaging 89 points per game (the number they hit exactly Saturday), bounced back from the early 11-point deficit thanks to a 10-2 run – including their first 3-pointer of the game after missing their first nine attempts on a Desmond Carpenter triple at the 9:51 mark in the first half to help NMHU eventually cut the deficit to 21-18 with 8:56 remaining in the first half.
 
NMHU regained the lead on a Jaylen Domina-Lovato jumper at the 2:01 mark in the first half at 31-29 and eventually took a 40-35 advantage into the half as Carpenter drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
 
The Cowboys never relinquished the lead in the second half and took their first double-digit lead after an Adrian LaFleur 3-pointer made it 59-49 with 12:47 remaining. But the ThunderWolves didn't go away as they closed the gap to 77-75 with 3:01 left in the contest. That's when Jordan Jones drained a 3-pointer 20 seconds later and NMHU led by at least two possessions the rest of the way.
 
Raquan Mitchell played a big part in helping the Cowboys get out of their offensive funk, scoring 14 of his game-high 22 points in the first half as he also added four rebounds, four steals, two thunderous dunks and went 4-for-9 from 3-point range. Gerad Davis had 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, Nnamdi Okoro had 13 points and eight rebounds, Jones had 11 points while Carpenter finished with 11 points and a team-high four assists.
 
The Cowboys finished the game shooting 43.7 percent from the field, 35.5 percent from 3-point range (11-for-31) and 66.7 percent from the free throw line (16-for-24). The Thunderwolves outshot the Cowboys from the field (49.1 percent) and from beyond the arc (13-for-35, 52 percent) while outrebounding the Cowboys 45-31, but the 21 turnovers turned out to be the difference.
 
Jordan Phillips led CSU-Pueblo with 21 points.
 
The Cowboys return to action 7 p.m. Friday as they host Fort Lewis at Wilson Complex.