Las Vegas, New Mexico - The Cowboys enter this week's action with an overall record of 2-9 and an RMAC record of 2-2. NMHU plays three non-conference games this week beginning with Tuesday night's game at Western Colorado.
NMHU split a pair of games last week losing at Fort Lewis 88-80 on Tuesday night before rebounding to edge Adams State on Thursday in Las Vegas 86-85.
"Our home crowd gave us tremendous energy tonight. Our guys battled for 40 straight minutes and stuck together during so many ups and downs. We have been through so much already as a team after playing an extremely difficult schedule, and our guys keep showing up ready to compete every day," said Coach Settembre after Thursday's win. "I'm so proud of our group. Every single member of our team contributed tonight. We can't wait to get back in front of our home fans next Thursday, but first let's get to Gunnison and keep the momentum going!"
COACH SETTEMBRE:
Zach Settembre is in his first season leading the Cowboys program having been named the head coach on April 8, 2025. He earned his first career win at New Mexico Highlands on December 4, 2025, when his Cowboys beat Regis 72-57. Settembre brings an impressive resume to the helm of the Cowboys having served as an assistant coach at Tarleton State, New Mexico State, and Coastal Carolina. He was the head coach at Tallahassee Community College where he led his teams to back-to-back conference championships and a 46-9 record. Settembre's climb up the DI ranks was in part facilitated by one of the sport's legends. He is a 2012 graduate of Syracuse and served as a student manager under Jim Boeheim.
RMAC COACHES POLL: New Mexico Highlands men's basketball was picked 11th in the 2025-26 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll that was released last month. The Cowboys were 12-16 overall and 5-15 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference last season.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION: Tuesday's non-conference game at Western Colorado is the first of two meetings this season between the two teams. The Mountaineers will be in historic Las Vegas on January 10th for a 3:00 pm RMAC contest. Western Colorado is 5-5 overall and 3-1 in conference play heading into Tuesday's game. Aidan McDowell earned RMAC Offensive Player of the Week honors as he scored 67 points against MSU-Denver and Regis last weekend. Zac Claus is in his third season as head coach of the Mountaineers. Western Colorado and NMHU split their two meetings last season and the series is deadlocked at 5-5 over the last ten games.
Cameron University brings a record of 4-6 overall and 1-2 in the Lone Star Conferenceinto Thursday's game with the Cowboys. The Aggies knocked off nationally ranked Lubbock Chritian 87-83 on Saturday afternoon behind 29 points from junior Arzhonte Dallas. This week's game will be the second meeting of the season between the two teams with Cameron beating the Cowboys 89-81 on November 25th in Lawton. The Aggies own a 2-0 record in the series history which dates back to the 1973-74 season. Nathan Kennedy, a graduate of Salem University, is in his first season as head coach at Cameron.
The Cowboys close out the 2025 portion of the schedule on Saturday afternoon when they welcome Colorado Christian to historic Las Vegas for a non-conference game. The Cougars are 3-7 overall and 0-4 in the RMAC heading into this week's game. Liam Simmons is in his sixth season as head coach at Colorado Christian. The Cougars and Cowboys split last season's games with each team winning on the other team's court. NMHU holds a 7-3 edge in the last ten games played in the series.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Through eleven games
Marcus Pierce leads the Cowboys in scoring at 14.5 points per game.
Dontae Walker is also in double figures at 12.3 points per game.
Marcus Pierce is seventh in the RMAC in free throw percentage at 84.1%.
Nikk Williams is sixth in the RMAC in rebounding at 7.7 per game and ninth in steals with 1.6 per game.
TEST THEM COWBOYS: Thursday's game against Cameron will be just the third home game of the season for NMHU. The Cowboys have been tested early this season with road games at North Texas, New Mexico State, and New Mexico. Their season began in early November at the D2CCA Tipoff Classic at The Trailhead in Billings, Montana, where they faced Montana State–Billings, Angelo State, and Central Missouri. The schedule also includes match ups against Western New Mexico, Eastern New Mexico, and Cameron from the Lone Star Conference. The first three Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games of the season are road games.
ON THE AIR: All three of this week's games will be broadcast on the
RMAC Network.
UP NEXT: After Saturday's game with Colorado Christian, the Cowboys break for the Christmas holidays. They return to action on January 3rd when they play a 3:00 pm non-conference game at CSU-Pueblo.
CLEAR BAG POLICY: NMHU has implemented a
Clear Bag Policy for all on-campus events.
GET YOUR TICKETS: Season tickets for NMHU basketball are on sale now and can be purchased on-line at
NMHUAthletics.com/Tickets.
