Close but no cigar. It seems as if each game throughout most of the season has come down to the end, but for the Mustangs they have been on the wrong end of the scoreboard. It was again the same story Friday night with the Western New Mexico University men’s basketball team pushing Colorado School of Mines to the limit, before the Orediggers made the plays late to come away with the 79-72 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victory Friday night.
The strong shooting night started early and never let off as WNMU (0-11, 0-6 RMAC) hit on a season-high 49.1 percent (27-55) and utilized the three-point ball making 9-16 (56.3), also a season-high.
It was a nip-and-tuck first half with neither team pulling away. The Mustangs stretched the lead out to four a few minutes in on a three-pointer by Brandon Tanter. The teams traded small leads the remainder of the half before a Jordan Enriquez three gave the Mustangs a 35-30 lead at halftime.
The second stanza started off well for WNMU as they had their lead to the largest of the night with 13 minutes to play on a Willie McCray three-point-play for the 53-44 advantage.
Following a spurt by CSM (9-3, 4-2 RMAC), WNMU had an answer pushing the lead back to seven with baskets by Daniel Van Den Kerkhof and Carter Aby for the 62-55 lead with eight minutes to play.
Just like games before this season, the other team had an answer and the Orediggers responded going on an 8-0 run to take a 63-62 lead on a three-pointer by Joe Dellenbach. Adam Kesler didn’t let them enjoy the lead for long connecting on a deep three-pointer just 19 seconds later to give WNMU a two-point lead back.
CSM would score the next two baskets to move in front 67-65 and would hold the lead until a layup by McCray with three minutes to play knotted the game for the last time at 69. CSM went on a 6-0 run, with the big shot coming off the bench by Garrett Loew, to move ahead 75-69, which would be too much for the Mustangs to overcome in the final minutes.
Steven Loucks went for a team-high 13 points, while McCray (11) and Enriquez (10) also reached double-figures. Makhtar Fall grabbed a team-high six rebounds and added eight points. Gokul Natesan had a game-high 17 points to lead the Orediggers. Adam Laine added 15 points.
While WNMU shot well, so did CSM as they went 30-53 (56.6) from the field, including a 8-17 (47.1) clip from three. They held a slight 11-9 edge at the foul line.
WNMU will host Colorado Christian tomorrow night starting at 7:30 p.m. The Cougars handed New Mexico Highlands their first loss of the RMAC season with a 93-81 victory earlier tonight
