Cowboys drop heartbreaker on the road to Regis

DENVER --- The New Mexico Highlands men's basketball team led in the final minute, but couldn't hang on down the stretch as the Cowboys lost to Regis 93-90 Friday night at the Regis Fieldhouse.
 
Despite a 40-point effort from Raquan Mitchell (the second straight game the Cowboys have had a 40-point scorer after not having one for five seasons) and leading for just short of 30 minutes of the contest, NMHU (9-3 overall, 4-2 RMAC) couldn't hold off a late Rangers (7-5, 4-2) run.
 
The Cowboys led 90-87 after a Gerad Davis jumper with 1:35 remaining in the contest, but Regis quickly answered with a layup to cut the lead to one point with 1:18 remaining. NMHU then missed a shot and Roberto Vercellino scored with 23 seconds left to give the Rangers a 91-90 lead. The Cowboys missed another shot with 15 seconds left, but quickly got the steal to get the ball back with 12 seconds remaining and called timeout.
 
But NMHU wouldn't even get a shot off as a turnover gave the ball back to the Rangers and they hit a pair of free throws with two seconds left to seal the win.
 
Mitchell, who had 21 points in the first half and 19 in the second half, paced the Cowboys with 40 points to go along with three assists. The junior went 12-for-21 from the field, including 8-for-14 from 3-point range, and was 8-for-9 from the free throw line. Jordan Jones had 15 points for the Cowboys while Davis added 11 points.
 
NMHU shot 44.3 percent from the field (27-for-61) – including shooting better from beyond the arc at 45.2 percent (14-for-31). The Cowboys were outrebounded 40-26. Regis shot 52.6 percent from the field (30-for-57) and shot 42.3 percent (11-for-26) from 3-point range. NMHU forced 20 turnovers (committed 13) and scored 22 points off of those turnovers.
 
Jarrett Brodbeck led five rangers in double figures with 21 points to go along with nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.
 
The Cowboys return to action 7 p.m. Saturday as they take on Colorado Christian on the road.