Davis' 41 points leads Cowboys past NNMC

LAS VEGAS, N.M. --- Gerad Davis became the first Cowboy to score 40-plus points in a game in five years as the senior helped lead the New Mexico Highlands men's basketball team defeat Northern New Mexico 100-87 on Wednesday night at Wilson Complex.
 
Davis went for 41 points for the Cowboys (9-2) in a very efficient way, going 12-for-17 from the field (including 1-for-2 from 3-point range) and 16-for-19 from the free throw line to become the first NMHU 40-point scorer since Mannie Cass scored 41 points Dec. 13, 2013, against Western State (a 101-99 Cowboy win in overtime).
 
NMHU at 9-2 finishes with the best record before the holiday break for the program since going 8-1 in 2010-11. Wednesday also marked the fourth time the Cowboys reached the 100-point mark in five home games.
 
The contest was close throughout the first 30 minutes – though the Cowboys led the Eagles (7-13) for 35 minutes of the game – as the teams were tied at 49-49 with 18:26 remaining in the contest. But Raquan Mitchell drained a step-back 3-pointer followed by a drive and score in the paint over the next minute to quickly give NMHU a 54-49 lead – and the Cowboys led the rest of the way.
 
The Eagles twice got to within one point – the last time at the 11:07 mark – but the Cowboys slowly increased the lead to double figures after a 3-pointer by Jordan Jones from the corner made it 77-67 with 8:16 minutes remaining.
 
NMHU's lead never got below five the rest of the way and increased to as much as 15 before winning by 13.
 
To go along with Davis' 41 points, Mitchell finished with 18 points, six assists and six rebounds, Nnamdi Okoro had a double-double with 16 points, 18 rebounds, three blocks and two steals and Adrian LaFleur had 11 points – going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc – to go along with three assists.
 
The Cowboys shot 50 percent from the field, 9-for-21 from 3-point range (42.9 percent) and were 29-for-37 (78.4 percent) from the charity stripe. NMHU also outrebounded the Eagles 43-32.
 
Makye Richards led NNMC with 25 points to go along with seven rebounds, five assists and five steals.
 
The Cowboys are off until Jan. 4 when they return to RMAC play and take on Regis on the road in Denver.