Box Score SILVER CITY, N.M. – Trailing by nine with 10:25 to play in the game, the Western New Mexico University men's basketball team came to life as they outscored Western State College by 19 over those final 10 minutes on their way to a 66-56 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victory Saturday night inside Drag's Court.


WSC (3-5, 1-3 RMAC) looked to be in control, as after a three-point-play put the Mountaineers ahead 45-36 with 10:25 to play.


WNMU (2-5, 2-2 RMAC) then found another gear, as Juan Suarez (Nogales, AZ/Nogales High School) found Lucio Luttrell (Las Cruces, NM/Las Cruces High School) along the baseline for a layup on the next possession to help get the Mustangs going.


Then, on a missed free throw, Chad Carter (Tucson, AZ/Ironwood Ridge High School) skied for the board and after passing it back out, Suarez found TJ Riley (Tyler, TX/Chapel Hill High School) who took it to the hoop strong for a dunk to ignite the crowd and trim the deficit to five, 45-40.


After WSC answered with a layup, WNMU would control the rest of the way.


Luttrell penetrated the WSC defense and kicked it out into the corner into the hands of a wide open Chris Mason (Phoenix, AZ/St. Mary's High School) who calmly knocked down the three-pointer to make it a four-point game at 47-43.


A steal by Suarez on the next possession led to a fastbreak layup for Riley and a timeout by WSC with the game just a two-point spread with 7:49 to play.


The Mustangs came all the way back to tie it on the next trip down the floor, as Mason came away with a big offensive rebound and was fouled.
He sunk both foul shots to knot the game at 47.


The Mountaineers looked to have ridded the ship, as they came back with five unanswered points for a 52-47 lead with 4:19 to play.


Carter then stepped up again as he did throughout the night with big shot after big shot and drilled a three at the top of the key off a pass from Riley to cut it back down to a two-point lead.


Riley then put WNMU ahead for good on the next play. After a missed shot, he grabbed the board and went coast-to-coast for the layup and was fouled. He made the foul shot to put WNMU ahead 53-52 with 3:29 to play.


Luttrell came away with a big defensive play on the next Mountaineer possession, as Kairo Rochford was trapped on the baseline and tried to go up for a shot, but Luttrell denied the shot and also collected the loose ball.


On the ensuing possession, the Mustangs moved the ball around until Carter got free again near the top of the key in which Suarez found him and Carter drained yet another shot from downtown to push the lead to four, 56-52.


WSC answered back with a jumper in the paint, but the Mountaineers missed the following foul shot and WNMU made them pay, with Suarez collecting a foul and hitting both shots for a four-point lead, 58-54, with 1:46 to play.


Then, WSC turned the ball over, as a technical foul was called on the Mountaineer head coach, giving WNMU two foul shots and the ball. Luttrell hit one of two foul shots to push the lead to five and then Riley swooped through the lane to lay it in to move the lead to seven with only a minute to play.


The Mustangs would convert their foul shots down the stretch to pull out the win.


Early on, both teams struggled to score, with WNMU opening up an early four-point lead at 9-5 after Carter tallied a three-point-play just over five minutes in.


After WSC came back to tie the game at 11, WNMU would work their way back in front by five three minutes after the tie with Mason and Carter tallying buckets for a 19-14 lead with seven minutes to go before halftime.


The Mountaineers came back to grab the lead at 21-20 with four minutes to go before half and would outscore WNMU by two over the final minutes to take a 29-26 lead into the locker room.


WSC looked to be taking a six-point lead into halftime, but Ryan Crane (Anthem, AZ/Boulder Creek High School) came through with a big trey from the wing to answer a Mountaineer three and give WNMU momentum heading into the break.


The momentum wouldn't last long, however, as WSC came out red hot to start the second stanza opening up a nine-point lead at the 16:48 mark, 37-28.


The lead would get as high as 11 over the next few minutes before WNMU began to make their comeback near the midway point of the second half.


Carter tallied a season-high 27 points and nine rebounds, also a season-high. He ended up scoring the first 11 points of the game for the Mustangs. He shot well from the field, making 10-of-15, including two three-pointers in four attempts and was a perfect 5-of-5 from the foul line. Riley was next in scoring with nine points and seven rebounds, while Suarez had eight points and eight assists and Luttrell chipped in seven points.


Both teams shot under 40 percent from the field, with WNMU making 21-of-54 (38.9) to 20-of-54 (37.0) for WSC. Each team connected on four, three-pointers, while WNMU held a plus-eight made free throw advantage and shot nine more attempts.


WNMU will hit the road this coming Wednesday when they will play at Division I New Mexico State in Las Cruces with tipoff set for 7 p.m.