Cowboys Open New Year In Colorado On Saturday

Las Vegas, New Mexico - The Cowboys wrap up non-conference play for the 2025-26 season on Saturday afternoon as they head to CSU Pueblo. Tip-off is set for 3:00.

New Mexico Highlands last played on December 20th, falling 80-63 at home to Colorado Christian. The Cowboys had three players reach double figures, led by Ramiah Adedigba with 15 points. Nikk Williams notched his third double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, and Caileb Parham chipped in 10.

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 4th, 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.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION:  CSU Pueblo enters Saturday's match up with a 7-4 overall record and is 2-2 in RMAC play. Like the Cowboys, the ThunderWolves were last in action on December 20, falling 61-55 at Texas A&M International in Laredo.

CSU-Pueblo's conference wins have come against Westminster and Chadron State, with losses to Western Colorado and South Dakota Mines.

Zach Ruebesam is in his first season as head coach at CSU Pueblo. The two teams split their meetings last season, with the Cowboys winning the non-conference match up 85-63 in November before Pueblo evened the season series with a 69-63 win in the RMAC contest in January.
 
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:  Marcus Pierce leads the Cowboys in scoring at 13.1 points per game.  Dontae Walker is also in double figures at 10.5 points per game.

Nikk Williams is seventh in the RMAC in rebounding at 7.6 per game. 

Marcus Pierce is ninth in the RMAC at 3.1 assists per game.  

TEST THEM COWBOYS:  New Mexico Highlands has played 14 regular-season games so far this season, with 10 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 match ups 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: Saturday's game will be broadcast on the RMAC Network and CSU-Pueblo will provide LiveStats.  

UP NEXT:  The Cowboys return home next week for RMAC play, hosting Colorado Mesa on Thursday evening and Western Colorado on Saturday afternoon.

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.