LAKEWOOD/GOLDEN, Colo. – The road doesn’t get much easier this week for the Western New Mexico University men’s basketball team as they will face a pair of teams in contention for RMAC Tournament spots.
First on Friday night at 8 p.m. will be a meeting with Colorado Christian University.
The Cougars are 12-13 overall and 9-10 in RMAC play and have lost their last three games. They are 8-3 at home and currently hold the eighth spot in the conference.
CCU averages 74 points and allows 72.6 per game. They make 44.4 percent from the field and allow 46.4 percent from opponents. CCU relies a lot on three-pointers taking 583 this season and making 233 good for 40 percent. Michael Brown (16.6), Tyler Shields (10.7) and Wayne McCullough (10.5) average in double-figures. Shields leads in rebounds at 6.1 per contest.
The Cougars took the earlier meeting in Silver City, 61-57, in a back-and-forth affair.
The next night on Saturday at 7 p.m. WNMU will face No. 14 Colorado School of Mines. The Orediggers are 20-3 overall and 16-3 in RMAC good for second in the conference and have already clinched a spot in the conference tournament. Colorado Mines is 10-1 at home and have won three straight, including a buzzer-beater this past weekend to edge Chadron State.
Brian Muller (15.4), Gokul Natesan (14.5), Trevor Ritchie (13) and Caleb Waitsman (11.6) all average in double-figures to lead the offense. Waitsman leads in rebounds at 7.2 per game. CSM scores 77.6 points per game and allows 65.2 per night. They make 52.3 percent from the field and allow 42.6 percent from opponents.
The Orediggers held off a valiant fight from the Mustangs earlier this season to claim a 69-59 victory in Silver City.
WNMU (2-21, 2-17 RMAC) will look to snap a seven-game slide with their last win coming at home against Chadron State. Terrez Scott (Santa Clarita, CA/Valencia) (13) and Marcos Castrillo (San Francisco, CA/Pinole Valley) (12.3) power the offense. Scott also leads in steals (34) and assists (103), Castrillo leads in blocks (11). Steven Loucks (Yuma, AZ/Cibola) leads in rebounds at 5.3 per game and also adds 9.2 points per game.
WNMU ranks in the top-100 in the NCAA in a pair of categories including 42nd in fewest turnovers (282) which is third in the RMAC and 74th in turnovers per game (12.3) which is fifth in the RMAC. Scott ranks in the top-70 in the NCAA in a pair of categories including 44th in assists per game (4.9) good for third in the RMAC and 68th in total assists (103) good for fourth in the RMAC. Scott is also eighth in the RMAC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7) and fifth in minutes played per game (33.5).
