The Mustangs' last seven games at home have been decided by eight points or less. Thursday night against New Mexico Highlands University was no exception. Fouled at the top of the key with two ticks left on the clock, sophomore TJ Riley (Tyler, TX, Chapel Hill High School, Lamar University) needed to sink at least one of his three free throws to avoid sending the game into overtime. He not only made one. He made all three, and the Mustangs won, 88-85. WNMU keeps their conference playoff hopes alive with a 9-7 RMAC record (10-13 overall). The Cowboys fall to 17-8 overall while going 11-6 in conference action.

Riley finished the night with 10 points. Eight of those came from the charity stripe. Justin Williams (Phoenix, AZ, Paradise Valley High School, Phoenix College) had 17 points in the second half to lead the Mustangs in scoring with 24. Jeron McIntosh (Albuquerque, NM, La Cueva High School) notched 16 points and hauled in six boards. Like Riley, McIntosh sank eight of his 11 free throws.

The Mustangs forced 17 Cowboy turnovers while limiting themselves to only to 10.

In a game littered with fouls, Highlands got into foul trouble early with six team fouls in the first five minutes of play. The score remained close during that time, but then the foul situation started to turn. The Mustangs recorded six fouls over the next three minutes to allow the Cowboys to jump ahead by as many as 10.

With two minutes left to play in the first half, the Cowboys were up, 48-38, but coming off the bench was Lucio Luttrell (Las Cruces, NM, Las Cruces High School). He scored eight straight points over the next minute and a half to cut the lead to just two. Highlands' Roman Andrade then nailed a jumper, and McIntosh pitched in with a free throw. Highlands had the 50-47 lead at intermission.

An early Cowboy turnover in the second helped tie the game at 50 and kick started a Williams' run. Williams scored eight of the next 17 Mustang points. The Mustangs went ahead by nine, 67-58, with 13:57 remaining.

The surge only lasted a short while. Highlands went on a 13-0 run, ending at the 10:18 mark to take a two-point lead. The game went back and forth from that point on. It was finally decided after Riley's three free throws with two seconds left. Highlands' took a last-ditch effort from half court, but the ball just bounced off the backboard

Highlands' Andrade finished with 27 points. Chop Tang recorded the game's only double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Click here for complete statistics.