WNMU Athletics
Benjamin Rice

SILVER CITY – Western New Mexico University’s men’s basketball team faced off against the New Mexico Highlands Cowboys this afternoon in their first home game of the season. The Mustangs were trailing by a good margin in the first half, but a second half surge brought them to within striking distance. Unfortunately the lead was to great to overcome by the end of the game. The Cowboys would claim victory, 74-71.

The Mustangs were led by Isaiah Marin (Phoenix, AZ/Copper Canyon High School), who scored 22 points on 9-16 shooting, supported by Aiden Wall (North Richland Hills, TX/Keller Central High School), who added 11 points and led in rebounds with seven, followed by Nathan Jones (Leicester, United Kingdom/) and Donovan Black (Las Cruces, NM/Del Valle High School) who contributed with 10 points each.

In the first half, the Mustangs lagged behind but the stats tell a different story. Western was shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 75.0 percent from 3-point range, while Highlands shot 41.0 percent from inside 3-point range and 33.3 percent beyond the arc in the first half. In the second half, there was a good surge from within the arc with the Mustangs shooting 46.7 percent and 57.1 percent from 3-point range, meanwhile the Cowboys were only 30.3 percent on shooting with an average of 27.3 percent beyond the arc. Western averaged 87.5 percent from the free-throw line on the day, which was well past Highlands’ 63.6 percent from the FT line. Ultimately the stats didn’t add up in Western’s favor, regardless of the numbers. Cowboys would go on to win the game by 3 points in the end, 74-71.

The Mustangs will be back out on the road, facing the St. Mary’s University Rattlers. They will be battling it out on Thursday, December 5, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. MDT.