Lawton, OK - The Western New Mexico University Men's Basketball team lost a heartbreak overtime game 82-77 to Cameron University Thursday night. The Mustangs were down 15 in the second half and battled back to force overtime. The Mustangs get their first loss of the season and are now (5-1).

"That was our first true road game against a LSC opponent and it felt every bit like a game in mid February," said Head Coach Zane Gibson. 

Foul trouble hurt the Mustangs all game. As a team, WNMU had 29 fouls and three would foul out. Cameron also had 23 fouls.

What separated the Aggies was their free throws. WNMU was 11-21 or 52.4% at the line compared to the Camerons 23-31 or 74.2%.

"LSC games come down to five possessions most nights and we didn't do enough to get over the top," said Gibson.

The Aggies went into the half leading 39-34. WNMU shot 46.4% and shot 37.5% from beyond the arc. In the first half there were 8 different lead changes, the largest Mustang lead being just two points.

In the second half, Cameron got off to a hot start. They led 53-38 before the Mustangs would battle back. Avalos turned it on, scoring 11pts and would give the Mustangs the lead with 5:43 left in the game.

Cameron didn't back down when down or tied late in the second half. They would hit three huge three points to either extend their lead or retake the lead.

With 45 seconds left in the game, Avalos would foul out. Amarion Cash (Phoenix, AZ/Mountain Pointe HS) would tie the game up at 70-70 with a step back jumper. With a chance to win it after an Olamide Pedersen (Bronshoj, Denmark /Sunrise Christian Academy) steal with five seconds left, the Mustangs found themselves headed to overtime with a missed three point shot.

In overtime, Cameron capitalized on WNMU's turnovers and missed shots. The Mustangs were just 2-10 for the field in overtime.

Cameron put the game away shooting the ball well, making a three when they needed it and converting on their free throws. Cameron would go on to win 82-77.

In order to win some of these games, the team has to be in these positions to do so," said Gibson. "Give Cameron credit, they made some big shots late."

Four Mustangs scored in the double-digits. Tony Avalos (Las Cruces, NM/Onate HS) led all scores with 19pts. Malik Johnson (Wytheville, Virginia/George Wythe High School) had a season high 17pts, going 6-13 on the floor. Johnson had 11pts in the first half. Amarion Cash (Phoenix, AZ/Mountain Pointe HS) was 6-12, bucketing 12pts and Ian Hohenstein (Veracruz, Mexico/Faith Christian Academy) was 5-6, ending with 10pts.

The Mustangs forced the Aggies to turn over the ball 23 times. As a team, WNMU had 10 steals, Jordan Doss (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Hope Academy) would have three and M.Johnson would force two.

The Aggies only had 13 Mustang turnovers and would go on to convert 15pts from those turnovers. The Mustangs had 24pts off of the Aggies turnovers.

Rebounding was not the Mustangs strong suit tonight. The Aggies out rebounded the Mustangs 48-39. Cameron had 34 defensive rebounds compared to WNMU's 25. Both teams had 14 offensive rebounds. 

PLAYERS TO HIGHLIGHT:

T. Avalos: 19pts, 2 reb, 2 ast 1 blk, 1 stl, 5 PF

M. Johnson: 17pts, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl

A. Cash: 15pts, 1 reb, 1 ast,  1 stl, 4 PF

I. Hohenstein: 10pts, 8 reb, 1 ast

"West Texas is a top 5 team in the country year-in-year-out. They will battle all night," said Gibson. 

The 5-1 Mustangs will go to First United Bank Center, in Canyon, TX, Saturday (Dec. 4th) playing against West Texas for a 1:00pm MT tip-off.

"We will need to turn our attention right to them, getting into our scout and have a good day of preparation tomorrow heading into Saturday's game" said Gibson. "We can't let tonight's outcome stay in our heads very long or it will affect us on Saturday."

This game recap is presented by First American Bank. First American Bank is a proud supporter of WNMU Athletics!  

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 Western New Mexico University is a member of the NCAA Division II, and the Lone Star Conference (LSC). For additional information regarding Mustang Athletics, visit www.wnmumustangs.com; visit wnmu.edu for more information about Western New Mexico University. Follow the Mustangs on social media: @WNMUathletics (Twitter &