PUEBLO, Colo. --- The New Mexico Highlands had a pair of shots down the stretch to take a late lead, but couldn't get one to fall as the Cowboys lost at CSU Pueblo 68-65 Saturday night at Massari Arena.
The Cowboys (5-3 overall, 0-2 RMAC) trailed 66-65 and had the ball with 27 seconds remaining, but
Sammy Barnes-Thompkins and
Desmond Carpenter both missed shots in the final 10 seconds before the ThunderWolves sank a pair of free throws to make it 68-65. Barnes-Thompkins had a game-tying 3-point attempt miss the mark at the buzzer as NMHU dropped its second game in a row.
The Cowboys led 35-31 at the half, but shot just 26.5 percent from the field in the second half (including 2-for-12 from 3-point range) and was outscored 37-30 over the final 20 minutes. Overall, NMHU - usually a strong 3-point shooting team - shot just 4-for-21 (19 percent) from 3-point range.
Andre Adams led the Cowboys with 16 points to go along with five rebounds and two steals,
Marcus Brown had 12 points and six rebounds and Carpenter finished with 11 points and five rebounds.
The Cowboys return to action 7 p.m. next Saturday when they host Regis at Wilson Complex.
