Las Vegas, New Mexico - The Cowboys are back on the road this week with conference games at Black Hills State on Thursday night and Chadron State on Saturday afternoon.
New Mexico Highlands split a pair of home games last week as they fell to Colorado Mesa 94-84 and routed Western Colorado 113-60. The Cowboys led late on Thursday but the visiting Mavericks closed out the game on a 22-9 run over the final 5:30 to come away with the win. On Saturday afternoon NMHU was red hot from the floor as they scored the most points in a game in four seasons to top the Mountaineers by 53 points.
COACH SETTEMBRE: Coach
Zach Settembre is in his first season leading the Cowboys after being named head coach on April 8, 2025. He picked up his first career win at New Mexico Highlands on December 4, when the Cowboys defeated Regis 72–57.
Settembre brings an impressive resume to the program, with assistant coaching stops at Tarleton State, New Mexico State, and Coastal Carolina. He previously served as the head coach at Tallahassee Community College, where he led his teams to back-to-back conference championships and compiled a 46–9 record.
A 2012 graduate of Syracuse, Settembre began his climb up the Division I ranks as a student manager under Hall of Fame coach 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, which was released prior to the start of the season. The Cowboys finished last season with a 12–16 overall record, going 5–15 in RMAC play.
Black Hills State was the preseason favorite in the poll while Chadron State was tabbed for a seventh place finish.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION: Black Hills State, ranked number 15 in this week's NABC Division II Top 25, is 12-2 overall and 5-1 in RMAC play. The Yellow Jackets ran past Regis 87-60 last Thursday before losing 77-73 at MSU Denver on Saturday. Redshirt sophomore Cam Lowe leads the Yellow Jackets in scoring (18.2/game) and rebounding (6.6/game). Ryan Thompson is in his eighth season as the head coach at Black Hills State. Black Hills State has won nine of the past ten meetings with New Mexico Highlands including both games last season.
Chadron State brings a record of 3-11 overall and 1-5 in conference play into this week's games. The Eagles host Adams State on Thursday night before welcoming the Cowboys for Saturday's game. Chadron State split a pair of road games last week as they lost at Colorado School of Mines 74-60 on Thursday before edging Regis 68-66 on Saturday. Jadon Cool leads Chadron State in scoring at 15.1 points per game and Luka Djurovic is the leading rebounder at 7.5 per game. Chris Francis is in his second season at Chadron State. The Cowboys hold a 7-3 lead in the last ten games played in the series including a 97-96 overtime win last season on January 18th Las Vegas.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:
Marcus Pierce leads the Cowboys in scoring at 13.1 points per game.
Ramiah Adedigba (10.2 points per game) and
Dontae Walker (10.0 ppg) are also in double figures.
Nikk Williams is sixth in the RMAC in rebounding at 7.3 per game.
Marcus Pierce is tenth in the RMAC at 3.0 assists per game and free throw percentage at 84.2%.
Nikk Williams and
Caileb Parham are tied for ninth in the RMAC with 1.5 steals per game.
TEST THEM COWBOYS: New Mexico Highlands has played 17 regular-season games so far this season, with 11 of those coming away from historic Las Vegas. The Cowboys have also been tested early, playing exhibition games on the road at North Texas, New Mexico State, and New Mexico.
The regular season opened in early November at the D2CCA Tipoff Classic at The Trailhead in Billings, Montana, where Highlands faced nationally ranked Montana State–Billings, Angelo State, and Central Missouri. The non-conference schedule has also included matchups against Western New Mexico, Eastern New Mexico, and Cameron from the Lone Star Conference.
Adding to the challenge, the Cowboys' first three Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games this season all came on the road.
ON THE AIR: This week's games will be broadcast on the
RMAC Network and LiveStats will be provided by the home teams.
UP NEXT: The Cowboys return home for games with UCCS on Thursday at 7:00 pm and CSU Pueblo on Saturday at 3:00 pm.
CLEAR BAG POLICY: NMHU has implemented a
Clear Bag Policy for all on-campus events.
GET YOUR TICKETS: Season and single game tickets for NMHU basketball are on sale now and can be purchased on-line at
NMHUAthletics.com/Tickets.
