Cowboy press a menace, leads to 104-69 win over Fort Lewis

LAS VEGAS, N.M. --- It's been nearly seven years since the New Mexico Highlands men's basketball team had defeated Fort Lewis, but the Cowboys left no doubt about breaking that streak Friday night.
 
NMHU used its press to terrorize the Skyhawks into 16 first-half turnovers and jumped out to a 52-22 halftime to cruise to a 104-69 win at Wilson Complex – snapping a 13-game losing streak to Fort Lewis since last beating the Skyhawks Jan. 6, 2012, and increasing its winning streak to six games, the longest for the program since starting the 2010 season 6-0.
 
The Cowboys (6-1 overall, 2-0 RMAC) trailed 7-6 at the 15:45 mark of the first half when they got rolling against the Skyhawks (4-3, 0-2). Raquan Mitchell drained back-to-back 3-pointers to ignite a 10-0 run for NMHU capped by a three-point play by Jordan Jones at the 14:08 mark to give the Cowboys a 16-7 advantage.
 
Leading 16-10, the Cowboys used another 3-pointer (this one from DJ Bustos) to ignite a 15-0 run (and a 25-3 run since the 15:45 mark) capped by a pair of Gerad Davis free throws to make it 31-10 with 8:51 left in the half.
 
The lead grew to 30 in the first half when DJ Bustos hit the Cowboys' eighth 3-pointer of the first half (on 14 attempts) to give NMHU a 52-22 advantage going into halftime – a lead that was never less than 25 and grew to as large as 42 at 99-57 with 5:38 left in the game before cruising to the 35-point win.
 
NMHU finished 19-for-33 from 3-point range – actually shooting better from beyond the arc than from inside it (12-for-27). The Cowboys were also deadly accurate from the line, going 23-for-25 from the charity stripe.
 
Davis led five players in double figures with 25 points to go along with seven steals, six rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot. Mitchell had 18 points, five assists, four rebounds and went 6-for-10 from 3-point range, Jordan Jones had 15 points, five rebounds and three steals, Bustos had 14 points and was 4-for-6 from 3-point range while Adrian LaFleur had 11 points, three assists and was 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.
 
Fort Lewis shot 36.2 percent from the field, 34.8 percent from 3-point range (8-for-23) and finished the game with 23 turnovers (which NMHU turned into 24 points). The Cowboys also won the fast break battle, outscoring the Skyhawks 24-7 on fast break points. Marquel Beasley led Fort Lewis with 17 points and five rebounds.
 
NMHU returns to action 7 p.m. Saturday when it hosts Adams State – also 2-0 in RMAC play – at Wilson Complex.