SILVER CITY, N.M. – In a game that featured almost more made free throws than field goals, the Western New Mexico University men’s basketball team ended the season on a high note beating New Mexico Highlands University, 84-83, Saturday afternoon in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action.
The game came right down to the wire, with each team having a chance to claim the win. NMHU (5-21, 5-17 RMAC) looked to be in good shape leading 81-77 with three minutes to play. After the teams traded possessions, a big steal by Brandon Tanter (Long Beach, CA/Los Angeles Prep) led to a fastbreak layup and he was also fouled. He would hit the shot leaving the Mustangs down just one, 81-80, with two minutes to play.
Following a pair of misses by both teams, Marcos Castrillo (San Francisco, CA/Pinole Valley) was fouled and would hit one of the shots to tie the game at 81 with a minute to play. The Cowboys turned to Jonathon Mines who poured in a game-high 33 points and he would hit a pair from the line to push NMHU back in front, 83-81, with 40 seconds to play. The Mustangs would run the clock and pass the ball around to Gavin Wood (Florence, AZ/Florence ) who calmly drilled a three from the wing off a pass by Terrez Scott (Santa Clarita, CA/Valencia) to elevate WNMU to an 84-83 lead with 14 seconds to play.
NMHU brought the ball up and run almost all the time off before kicking the ball into the corner for a wide open three look by Matthew Logan, but it was short and as the teams fought for the loose ball, time expired.
The Mustangs dominated most of the first half, holding a lead by as many as 14 when Tanter hit a foul shot with four minutes to go before halftime. NMHU would get it back to eight, 42-34, at the break.
WNMU controlled the lead throughout the second half until the midway point when the Cowboys came back to tie and take a three-point lead with eight minutes to play. The teams would then either be tied or trade leads throughout the next several minutes setting up the exciting finish.
Tanter led WNMU with a season-high 25 points and also added four assists and three steals. Castrillo added 19 points, Scott with 12 and Tyler Shea (Rancho Cucamunga, CA/Alta Loma) came off the bench with 10 points. Castrillo posted a double-double in his final game as he also brought down 10 rebounds. Scott recorded a double-double with 10 assists in his final game. Mines led NMHU with 33 points, making 18-of-20 from the foul line.
Both teams shot lots of foul shots with NMHU going 29-of-36 (80.6) to WNMU’s 19-of-26 (73.1). NMHU made over 50 percent from the field connecting on 25-of-48 (52.1), while WNMU made just under 40 percent (28-71). WNMU held the edge on three-pointers (9-4). WNMU also took advantage of 16 NMHU turnovers holding a healthy 26-8 advantage on points off turnovers.
WNMU has now ended the season with one-point wins over NMHU the past two years.
