Durango, CO --- The New Mexico Highlands Men's basketball team took care of business on the road as they beat Eastern New Mexico in an OT thriller 112-108 on Saturday and Western New Mexico 102-75 on Sunday. Both games were part of the RMAC/Lonestar Conference Challenge, which was played in Durango, CO.
AGAINST EASTERN NM: The Cowboys (2-0, 0-0 RMAC) and The Greyhounds found themselves in a battle as both team failed to gain an advantage midway through the first. The Cowboys would then find themselves down 16-19 before going on a 15-2 run, and a 31-21 lead. NMHU would maintain the lead going in to half, 52-44.
In the second half, David Hall knocked down a three that gave the Cowboys an 11-point advantage with 18:22 left in the half. The Cowboys and Greyhounds would battle back-and forth before the Cowboys took a 94-79 lead with under 5 minutes to go. NMHU would not score a basket in the rest of regulation as they Greyhounds would rally back to tie the game at 94 and force an overtime. Raquan Mitch, who finished as the games leading scorer, would foul out with 1:47 left in the second half and would not play in the OT period.
In OT, the Greyhounds would continue their strike, taking an early 98-95 lead at the 4-minute mark. The Cowboys would take the lead at 101-100 with 2:16 left as Sammy Barnes-Thompkins knocked down a three from the corner.
With 31 seconds left, Desmond Carpenter would come up with a clutch three pointer as he drained a deep ball from the top of the key, as the shot-clock expired and gave the Cowboys a 108-102 lead. The Cowboys would knock down some free throws and go on to win 112-108 over Eastern New Mexico.
Raquan Mitchell, who did not play in the OT period, tallied 33 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. Sammy Barnes-Thompkins not only made his presence known on offense with 29 points, made a huge impact on defense as he recorded a game high 8 steals. Desmond Carpenter finished with 15 points and 3 rebounds and Will Johnson kept the glass clean with 7 rebounds.
AGAINST WESTERN NM: The Cowboys came out on fire against the Mustangs, behind two 3's from Sammy Barnes-Thompkins, and took an early 14-4 lead at the 16-minute mark. The Cowboys wouldn't look back as they would extend their lead to as much as 14 points, before going in to halftime with a 47-37 lead.
The Cowboy press seemed to take its toll on the Mustangs in the second half as the Cowboys would score 18 unanswered points, and jump out to a 69-40 lead with just under 13 minutes to go in the game. From that point on, the Cowboys would coast to a 102-75 win over Western New Mexico.
Sammy Barnes-Thompkins continued his defensive presence as he recorded 4 more steals on the night and led all scorers with 26 points, while Raquan Mitchell posted his first double-double of the season with 21 points and 12 rebounds. The Cowboys had two other players score in double figures - Desmond Carpenter (19 points, 2 assists) and Will Johnson (11 points, 7 rebounds).
The Cowboys will be back in action on Wednesday night for their home-opener against Western New Mexico at 6 pm at Wilson Complex.
GO COWBOYS!!
