Cowboys top Chadron State, clinch RMAC Tourney spot

LAS VEGAS, N.M. --- The New Mexico Highlands men's basketball team is officially postseason bound.
 
The Cowboys (18-9 overall, 13-8) got another big game from senior Gerad Davis (this time on senior night) to defeat Chadron State (10-11, 12-15) 97-91 Saturday night at Wilson Complex – clinching a spot in the RMAC Tournament with a game to go.
 
NMHU sits in a tie for sixth place with Colorado Mesa – two games up on the final spot held by Chadron State and Adams State. The Cowboys and Mavs are a game back of UC Colorado Springs and Black Hills State – who sit in a tie for fourth place and the final spot to host in the first round (eight teams qualify with the top four hosting in the first round). NMHU would need UCCS and Black Hills State to both to lose while beating CSU-Pueblo on Friday to force a three- or four-way tiebreaker and then it would come down to the RMAC tiebreaker (a tiebreaker based on quality of wins within the conference).
 
As for Saturday's victory, the Cowboys led for much of the first half to take a 49-44 lead into the break, but found itself down three points at 62-59 with 15:14 remaining.
 
The Cowboys got rolling, however, as a Raquan Mitchell 3-pointer at the 15:08 mark tied the game and ignited a 12-1 run for NMHU capped by a pair of free throws by Davis with 12:32 left to make it 71-63. The lead was cut back down to five before six straight points by Davis and a Desmond Carpenter fast-break layup over a 1:20 span gave NMHU a 13-point lead at 86-73 and the Cowboys cruised from there.
 
Davis – the RMAC's leading scorer – led NMHU with 31 points to go along with four steals, two rebounds and two assists (he went 15-for-16 from the free-throw line). Mitchell finished with 19 points, six rebounds and four assists while Jordan Jones had 11 points.
 
NMHU shot 54.2 percent from the field, including 9-for-24 from 3-point range. A big key for NMHU was going 24-for-27 from the free-throw line and forcing 18 Eagle turnovers – turning them into 19 points (Chadron State forced eight turnovers with eight points off of those).
 
The Cowboys celebrated their seniors before the game as they played possibly their final game at Wilson Complex: Davis, Jones, Nnamdi Okoro (who had nine points), Adrian LaFleur (who had eight points and four assists with the team's top plus/minus at +20) and Mangisto Deng.
 
NMHU wraps up its regular season Friday on the road at CSU-Pueblo.