Cowboys Begin Four Game Home Stand On Thursday Night

Las Vegas, New Mexico - The Cowboys begin the longest home stand of the season on Thursday night hosting UCCS at 7:00 pm.  CSU-Pueblo will be in Las Vegas for a 2:00 pm game on Saturday.

New Mexico Highlands split a pair of games on the road last week losing at nationally ranked Black Hills State on Thursday 79-74 despite a game high 19 points from Marcus Pierce.  The Cowboys topped Chadron State 88-84 on Saturday as five Cowboys reached double figures, once again led by Marcus Pierce, who scored a team-high 21 points and went a perfect 8-for-8 at the free-throw line. Nikk Williams posted his fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Ramiah Adedigba added 18 points, BJ Comer finished with 14, and Dontae Walker chipped in 12 to round out the balanced attack.

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.

UCCS was tabbed for a fourth place finish while CSU-Pueblo was 12th in the voting by the conference coaches.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION: UCCS brings a record of 10-6 overall and 5-3 in conference play after beating Regis and MSU-Denver last week.  Junior Brady Martinez leads the Mountain Lions in scoring at 13.3 points per game while Marzouq Abdur-Razaaq is the top rebounder at 5.9 per game. Jeff Culver, a graduate of the University Michigan, is in his 14th season leading the Mountain Lions. The Cowboys hold a 6-4 edge in the last ten games in the series between the two teams including a 96-92 win in Las Vegas on February 22nd of last season. 

CSU-Pueblo is 12-4 overall and 6-2 in the RMAC after wins over Colorado School of Mines and Regis last week.  The Thunderwolves play at Adams State on Thursday night before heading to historic Las Vegas for Saturday's game.  Sophomore Blair Jordan leads CSU-Pueblo in scoring (14.4 per game) and rebounding (7.0 per game).  Zach Ruebesam is in his first season as head coach at CSU-Pueblo.  Saturday's game is the second meeting of the season between the two teams as the Cowboys dropped a non-conference game in Pueblo 7-57 on January 3rd.
 


STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:  The Cowboys head into play on Thursday averaging 74.4 points per game while allowing 77.8 per outing.

The Cowboys are third in the RMAC and 27th nationally in bench scoring at 31.8 points per game.

Marcus Pierce leads the Cowboys in scoring at 14.6 points per game.  Ramiah Adedigba (11.1 points per game) is also averaging double-figures.  

Nikk Williams is sixth in the RMAC in rebounding at 7.2 per game. 

Marcus Pierce is sixth in the RMAC in free throw percentage at 87.0%.

Caileb Parham is ninth in the RMAC with 1.4 steals per game.

TEST THEM COWBOYS:  New Mexico Highlands has played 19 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 with Scott Galetti and Steve Davis on the call.  LiveStats will also be available for both games.

UP NEXT:  The Cowboys remain in historic Las Vegas to host MSU-Denver on Thursday night and Regis on Saturday afternoon.

CLEAR BAG POLICY: NMHU has implemented a Clear Bag Policy for all on-campus events.

GET YOUR TICKETS: Single game tickets for NMHU basketball are on sale now and can be purchased on-line at NMHUAthletics.com/Tickets.