Cowboys In Grand Junction For RMAC Quarterfinals

Las Vegas, New Mexico - New Mexico Highlands is 13-18 overall and 11-9 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play as the Cowboys head into Tuesday's RMAC Quarterfinal playoff game in Grand Junction against Colorado Mesa.

The Cowboys split their final two regular-season conference games, falling at Colorado Christian, 75-67, on Thursday before edging UCCS, 86-84, on Saturday afternoon. BJ Comer paced New Mexico Highlands last week, averaging 15.0 points per game, including a career-high 17 in the win at UCCS.

PLAYOFFS!: For the first time since the 2021-22 season, the Cowboys have secured a berth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Playoffs, which begin Tuesday night.

LAST TIME: New Mexico Highlands last reached the RMAC postseason in 2021-22, earning the eighth seed and a trip to South Dakota to face top-seeded Black Hills State. That Cowboys squad didn't take the easy path. After opening conference play with a 1-10 record, New Mexico Highlands caught fire down the stretch, closing on a 9-2 run to claim the final tournament spot. Led by All-RMAC standouts Sammy Barnes-Thompkins (20.1 ppg) and Desmond Carpenter (15.1 ppg), the Cowboys capped the season with a 15-14 overall mark.

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.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION: Colorado Mesa carries a 19-9 overall record and an 15-5 conference mark after winning at South Dakota Mines and losing at Black Hills State to close out the regular season. Hall of Famer Mike Dunlap is in his second season as head coach after leading CMU to a 19-10 record and an RMAC playoff berth last year. Ty Allard leads the Mavericks with 18.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. The Mavericks won both regular season games over New Mexico Highlands taking a 94-84 decision in Las Vegas before winning 85-80 in Grand Junction on Valentine's Day. 

The last postseason meeting between the two teams was a 91-71 Maverick's win in the 2000 RMAC playoffs.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:  The Cowboys head into play this week averaging 78.4 points per game while allowing 78.7 per outing.

The Cowboys lead the RMAC and are 17th nationally in bench scoring at 32.5 points per game.

Marcus Pierce leads the Cowboys 14.8 points per game.  Ramiah Adedigba (11.7 points per game),  Ibrahima Sacko (11.1 per game), and Dontae Walker (10.8 points per game) are also averaging double-figures.  

Ibrahima Sacko leads the RMAC in field goal percentage at 58.2%.

Caileb Parham is seventh in the RMAC with 1.5 steals per game.

TEST THEM COWBOYS: New Mexico Highlands has been battle-tested this season, playing 31 regular-season games with 18 of those coming away from historic Las Vegas. The Cowboys were also challenged early with road exhibition contests 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 slate also featured matchups against Western New Mexico, Eastern New Mexico, and Cameron of the Lone Star Conference.

Adding to the grind, the Cowboys' first three Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games of the season all came on the road.

ON THE AIR: Tuesday night's game will be broadcast on the RMAC Network and Colorado Mesa will provide LiveStats.

GET YOUR TICKETS:  Tickets for Tuesday night's game are available at the RMAC Championship Ticketing site.

RMAC TOURNAMENT:  Complete coverage of the RMAC Men's Basketball Championship can be found at the Tournament Homepage.