Las Vegas, New Mexico - The Cowboys open conference play this week with a Thursday game at Regis and a Saturday afternoon contest in Golden with the Colorado School of Mines.
NMHU dropped its only game of the week to visiting Western New Mexico on Friday afternoon 76-58 in historic Las Vegas.
Dontae Walker scored 18 points to lead the Cowboys while
Nikk Williams and
Ibrahima Sacko each grabbed six rebounds.
COACH SETTEMBRE:
Zach Settembre is in his first season leading the Cowboys program having been named the head coach on April 8, 2025. 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: Regis is 1-4 heading into Thursday's meeting with the Cowboys with the lone win of the season coming over UT-Dallas. Rex Walters, a graduate of the University of Kansas, is in his first season as the head coach at Regis. The Rangers were tabbed for a 14th place finish in the 2025-26 Preseason Coaches' Poll. Regis won both meetings with the Cowboys last season and holds an 8-2 edge in the last ten meetings between the two teams.
The Orediggers, 2-6 heading into the opening weekend of conference play, host Adams State on Thursday night. Like The Cowboys, they started the season in Billings, Montana, at the D2CCA Tipoff Classic at The Trailhead. Pryor Orser is in his 25th season leading the basketball program at the Colorado School of Mines where he has amassed 476 career wins. The Orediggers were picked second in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' poll. Saturday is the 83rd meeting all-time between the two teams with the Orediggers holding a 49-33 edge in the series history.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: Through seven games
Marcus Pierce leads the Cowboys in scoring at 13.3 points per game. Also in double-figures are
Dontae Walker (11.3/game) and
Ibrahima Sacko (10.0/game).
BJ Comer is ninth in the RMAC in free throw percentage at 84.0%.
Dontae Walker is fifth in the RMAC with 1.7 steals per game.
Latavious Morris is tied for seventh in the RMAC with 1.6 steals.
Nikk Williams is tied for seventh in the RMAC with 1.6 steals.
TEST THEM COWBOYS: 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.
ON THE AIR: Both of this weekend's games will be broadcast on the
RMAC Network.
UP NEXT: The Cowboys are at Fort Lewis on Tuesday evening and return home for a Thursday night game with Adams State.
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.
