Things didn't look so good for most of the second half for the Mustangs in Saturday's RMAC basketball tilt with visiting Chadron State -- but in this case, "most" didn't cover the last 6.4 seconds. It took WNMU six of those ticks to run the play head coach Mark Coleman drew up in the dirt that netted a cheap-seat rainbow three-pointer from sophomore TJ Riley (Tyler, TX, Chapel Hill High School, Lamar University) that erased all of the half's mistakes and "should-a-beens" and gave Western New Mexico an unlikely 76-75 win over the scrappy Eagles.

 

The Mustangs trailed by nine points with nine minutes left in the game, but they gradually chipped away at the lead as WNMU found its stroke via some nice three point shooting from Eli Crevelone (Tucson, AZ, Canyon Del Oro High School) and Stefan Mirabal (Albuquerque, NM, Sandia High School). The Eagles, who owned the first part of the second half, didn't play poorly during WNMU's run. They just scored two-point baskets when WNMU was hitting trifectas, and they missed some valuable free throw opportunities.

 

WNMU trailed by four points with 58 seconds left, then got a pair of free throws from Crevelone to set up Riley's heroics after the Eagles ran the clock down to six seconds. Riley's rainbow gave WNMU its first lead in 17 minutes, but it was a wait worth waiting for.

 

Chadron shot nearly 50 percent from the field in a game that saw them play excellent defense and patient offense, but it wasn't enough to handle the fiesty Mustangs, who fought back every time Chadron got on a run.

 

WNMU didn't shoot particularly well at 41 percent, but they owned an advantage on the boards and in turnovers. WNMU took 58 shots to the Eagles 51, but Chadron tried to slow the game down at the 6:00 mark in the midst of WNMUn's run. They didn't slow it down enough.

 

The Mustangs' Mirabal, Crevelone, and Riley all found the double figure column, scoring 21, 16, and 13 respectively. Mirabal also led WNMU with a solid seven rebounds from his guard position.

 

The win moves WNMU to 6-8 overall and 5-2 in the RMAC. Chadron slipped to 5-9 (3-4 RMAC).

 

WNMU is at home again next weekend with Fort Lewis coming to town Thursday and Adams State visiting Saturday. Game time will be 6:00 p.m. for the women's games and 8:00 for the men.