SPEARFISH, S.D. --- The New Mexico Highlands men's basketball team was rolling with just more than two minutes left in the first half as a
Desmond Carpenter 3-pointer gave the Cowboys a 37-19 lead on Black Hills State – and even a 10-0 run by the Yellow Jackets still had NMHU up eight points at the half.
But the Cowboys continued to struggle in the second half as BHSU outscored them 52-33 over the final 20 minutes in NMHU's 81-70 loss Friday night at the Donald E. Young Center.
Eleven second-half turnovers by the Cowboys (13-5 overall, 8-4 RMAC) – a team that commits on average 11.8 per game (second in the RMAC) – led to 17 points off turnovers for the Yellow Jackets (8-8, 7-5).
The Cowboys led in the second half 55-46 with 10:34 remaining following an
Adrian LaFleur bucket before the Yellow Jackets embarked on a 17-2 run over the next 3:26 – a run in which BHSU went 6-for-6 from the field (including 2-for-2 from 3-point range) – to take a 63-57 lead. It was the only lead change of the game as NMHU led for 29 minutes, 39 seconds of the game (BHSU led for 8:46 – the final 8:46 of the contest).
A LaFleur 3-pointer got the Cowboys with three at 63-60 on their next possession, but that's as close as NMHU got the rest of the way as the Yellow Jackets went on an 8-0 run to increase the lead to 11.
Along with turnover problems, the Cowboys went 3-for-17 from 3-point range in the second half after going 7-for-16 in the first half.
Gerad Davis paced the Cowboys with 22 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals while
Raquan Mitchell had 12 points and
Jordan Jones finished with 11 points and six rebounds.
NMHU looks to bounce back 5:30 p.m. Saturday as the Cowboys take on South Dakota Mines in Rapid City.
