Men's Basketball survives against Western New Mexico at home

Las Vegas, NM --- The New Mexico Highlands men's basketball team gave fans a mid-week thriller as they survive against Western New Mexico 74-71 at the Wilson Complex on Wednesday evening.
 
The Cowboys and Mustangs met for the second time in four days as he Cowboys beat the Mustangs over the weekend in Durango, CO. Still, the Mustangs put up a fight in the 3-point victory for the Cowboys.
 
The Cowboys would jump to an early 6-0 lead after center Will Johnson completed an and-1 from an assist by Raquan Mitchell. The Mustangs would hold on and rally back to take the lead 19-16 with 11:51 left in the first half. The teams would go back and forth between 8 lead changes in the half before Western New Mexico would take a 38-37 lead going in to halftime.
 
The Cowboys buckled down defensively as they allowed 33 points in the second half. The Cowboys would re-take the lead on their first possession of the second half as Sammy Barnes-Thompkins found Darius Harrison on a wrap-around pass. After that, the Cowboys would extend their lead to as much as 12 points (61-49) halfway through the second half.
 
The Cowboys continued to push the pace with their press defense, and saw their lead grow to 70-56 with 7:21 left in the game. The Cowboys would only score 4 points from that point, all four free-throws from Barnes-Thompkins, and the Mustangs would push the cut the lead to 74-68 with 1:16 left in the game.
 
The Mustangs would connect on a three point attempt with 5 seconds remaining from WNMU Amarion Cash, and were forced the call timeout and foul on the inbounds.
 
Mitchell, who was quiet almost all game with foul trouble, would miss back-to-back free throws but the Mustangs would miss the half-court heave and the Cowboys would survive with a 74-71 win.
 
Sammy Barnes-Thompkins lead the Cowboys with 17 points and David Hall, who connected on 2 of his 3 three point attempts, finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds. Darius Harrison nearly had a double-double as he recorded 13 points and 9 rebounds down-low for the Cowboys and Jalen Munn stepped in off the bench to add 9 points.
 
The Cowboys will be back in action next week as they host Northern New Mexico on Monday November 18th at 7 pm at Wilson Complex. Free admission will be granted for those who bring a canned food or non-perishable item (minimum 1 item per person).
 
GO COWBOYS!!