Las Vegas, New Mexico - With postseason positioning tightening in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference race, the New Mexico Highlands University Cowboys responded in emphatic fashion Thursday night, defeating South Dakota Mines, 85-68, at the John A. Wilson Complex.
With the win, New Mexico Highlands improves to 12-16 overall and 10-7 in RMAC play. The Hardrockers fall to 9-16 overall and 6-11 in conference play.
The Cowboys came out locked in offensively, shooting at a high clip from the opening tip. New Mexico Highlands built a double-digit lead midway through the first half and never allowed the Hardrockers to establish rhythm on the defensive end.
NMHU took a 46-31 advantage into the locker room after shooting better than 60 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
Four Cowboys scored in double figures, led by
Ibrahima Sacko, who poured in 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting while adding four rebounds.
BJ Comer was nearly perfect from the floor, finishing with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
Marcus Pierce and
Dontae Walker each added 13 points, with Walker contributing three steals on the defensive end.
New Mexico Highlands shot 58.5 percent (31-of-53) from the field for the game and connected on 36.4 percent from beyond the arc. The Cowboys also controlled the paint and capitalized on transition opportunities throughout the night.
Thursday's victory puts the Cowboys in a three-way tie with Adams State and Colorado School of Mines at 10-7 in the RMAC standings with three regular-season games remaining.
The Cowboys wrap up the regular-season home schedule Saturday afternoon when Black Hills State visits historic Las Vegas for a 3:00 p.m. tip-off. The Yellow Jackets are coming off a 79-69 road win over Adams State on Thursday night in Alamosa.
