Gunnison, Colorado - The Cowboys used a balanced scoring attack and a stingy defense to leave Paul Wright Gym with a 78–70 non-conference win over Western Colorado on Tuesday night. NMHU improved to 3–9 overall, while the Mountaineers fell to 5–6.
After 14 lead changes, the Cowboys took control midway through the second half, riding a
Nikk Williams layup to a 52–51 advantage and leading for the final 12:14 of Tuesday's game.
Defensively, the Cowboys limited Western Colorado to 44.2% shooting and 70 points, the Mountaineers' third-lowest output of the season. NMHU also forced 20 turnovers and turned them into 24 points.
Balanced scoring fueled the Cowboys, as five players scored in double figures.
Ibrahima Sacko led the team with 17 points, followed by
Marcus Pierce with 16,
Nikk Williams with 11, and
BJ Comer and
Ramiah Adedigba with 10 each.
The Cowboys turned in their second-best shooting performance of the season, connecting on 52.5% (31 of 59) of their shots from the floor.
Wesley Isoje grabbed a team high seven rebounds for NMHU.
Western Colorado will travel to historic Las Vegas on January 10th for a 3:00 pm contest that will count toward the RMAC standings.
The Cowboys return home Thursday night for a rematch against Cameron University, with tip off scheduled for 6:00 pm. The Aggies took the first meeting of the season last month, earning an 89-81 victory in Oklahoma.
