Cowboys have chances, edged by #16 Orediggers, 81-78

LAS VEGAS, N.M. --- It was a frantic finish Saturday night between two teams in the top three of the RMAC, but the New Mexico Highlands men's basketball team came up just short and were edged by No. 16 Colorado School of Mines 81-78 at Wilson Complex.
 
The Cowboys (15-6 overall, 10-5 RMAC) – after leading by as much as 17 points in the first half – found themselves down 75-68 with just under three minutes remaining in the contest, scoring just 18 points in 17 second-half minutes.
 
But Jordan Jones was fouled with 2:54 remaining on a 3-pointer and connected on all three free throws to cut the Oredigger (18-3 overall, 15-0 RMAC) lead to four. Raquan Mitchell then came up with a block on the next Mines possession and on the other end drained a tough shot to make it 75-73 with 2:10 left.
 
The Cowboys – who went 8-for-14 from 3-point range in the first half before going 1-for-10 in the second half – then forced a turnover and Gerad Davis picked up a steal. That's when Mitchell drove the basket and scored as he was fouled with 1:35 remaining. His free throw gave the Cowboys a 76-75 lead and capped an 8-0 run for NMHU.
 
The Orediggers, however, showed why they've won 17 games in a row as on their next possession drained a 3-pointer to take a 78-76 lead with 1:11 remaining.
 
On NMHU's next possession Mitchell's 3-pointer was off the mark, but Nnamdi Okoro was there with a putback to tie the game at 78. Again Mines answered as Ben Sonnefeld drained a contested 3-pointer with 21 seconds left and the Cowboys' game-tying attempt was off the mark to hand them their first home loss of the season (8-1).
 
NMHU, which led 30-plus minutes in the contest, finished the game shooting 48.2 percent from the field and was 15-for-17 from the free throw line while the Orediggers shot 50.9 percent and were 21-for-23 from the charity stripe. The Cowboys – which rank in the top 25 in the nation in turnovers forced at nearly 19 per game – forced 11 Mines turnovers while committing eight.
 
Mitchell led the Cowboys with 20 points, five assists and two blocks while Jordan Jones had 18 points, Nnamdi Okoro had 15 points and nine rebounds and Gerad Davis finished with 10 points and five rebounds.
 
The Cowboys look to bounce back at home next week as they host South Dakota Mines 7 p.m. Friday and Black Hills State 7 p.m. Saturday at Wilson Complex.