Box Score DENVER, Colo. – Having jumped out to a seven-point halftime lead, the Western New Mexico University men's basketball team made the lead stand holding off a rally by Regis University for the 73-66 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victory Friday night.
Brandon Williams (Long Beach, CA/Los Angeles Prep) had WNMU (1-10, 1-6 RMAC) ahead by as many as 11 near the midway point of the first half with a layup for the 21-10 lead. RU (3-7, 1-5 RMAC) fought back to get to within four when
Steven Loucks (Yuma, AZ/Cibola) posted back-to-back layups leaving the Mustangs with a 37-30 halftime lead.
Marcos Castrillo (San Francisco, CA/Pinole Valley) had the lead back to nine four minutes into the second half with a jump shot for the 43-34 advantage. Still ahead by eight, the Rangers went on a run to take what would be their only lead of the second half at 50-49 with 10 minutes to play in the game.
Out of the media timeout,
Terrez Scott (Santa Clarita, CA/Valencia) posted a layup and WNMU never looked back. Loucks added a three and Scott another layup had pushed the lead back to six.
Loucks put the game out of reach with a layup at the 2:06 mark which stretched the lead back to 11 at 69-58. The Rangers made a late run to get back to within five, but the Mustangs came back with a Castrillo dunk to give WNMU their first win of the season.
WNMU shot well from the field connecting on 30-of-53 (56.6), which included four three-pointers and also went 9-of-14 from the foul line. The Mustangs feasted on points in the paint holding a 45-20 advantage and also had a 10-5 edge on second-chance points.
Castrillo scored a game-high 23 points going 10-of-15 from the field and added a double-double with 11 rebounds. Loucks and Scott reached double-figures with both chipping in 11 apiece. Scott had a team-high seven assists and three steals.
Dylan King led the Rangers with 15 points.
WNMU will face No. 10 Metro State University Denver Saturday night at 7 p.m. The Roadrunners defeated New Mexico Highlands, 78-47, earlier tonight.
