Silver City, N.M. - Western New Mexico University's Men's Basketball team battled all afternoon before the UT Permian Basin Falcon's defeated the Mustangs 73-68. The Mustangs are now 10-8 on the year and 3-5 in LSC play. 

"We did some good stuff in spurts,  but at the end of the day they made winning plays and we did not," said Head Coach Zane Gibson.

The Mustangs had an early lead in the first half, but the Falcons didn't hold back and would take the lead 30-28, going into halftime. 

Late in the second half, the Mustangs were up by four points but couldn't extend the lead and put the game out of reach.

Four Mustangs scored in double figures, Jordan Doss (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Hope Academy) led the Mustangs with 22pts, Tony Avalos (Las Cruces, NM/Onate HS) had 15pts, Malik Johnson (Wytheville, Virginia/George Wythe High School) had 10pts, and Amarion Cash (Phoenix, AZ/Mountain Pointe HS) had 10pts.. 

As a team, WNMU shot 36.5%, going 23-63. From three, the Mustangs were 34.6%, going 9-26. WNMU struggled at the free throw line going 13-23 (56.5%). 

UTPB out rebound the Mustangs 38-32. The Falcon's Lemmie Howard led all players with 10 rebounds. The Falcons had eight second chance points, to the Mustangs six points.

"We just have to go back to work. The process never changes," said Gibson. "How you approach the process is what matters."

WNMU had good ball movement with 10 assists and got the ball inside the paint having 26pts. The Mustangs converted on the Falcon's 11 turnovers with 19 fast break points.

The Falcon's offense mostly came from Miles Danies and Jordan Horn. The two Falcons combined for 41pts.  

UTPB's Notable Players:

Miles Daniels: 22pts (5-8 3FG), 7 reb, 2 ast

Jordan Horn: 19pts, 3 reb, 2 ast

Lemmie Howard: 7pts, 10 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk

PLAYERS TO HIGHLIGHT:

J. Doss: 22pts, 9 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl

T. Avalos: 15pts (6-8 FT), 2 reb, 3 ast, 

M. Johnson: 10pts, 2 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl

A. Cash: 10pts, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl

"Hopefully the guys come back hungry on Monday. The LSC is unforgiving. Every week there's another challenge. Midwestern State and Dallas Baptist are both really good and we have to be ready or it won't be a good weekend."

The (10-8) Mustangs will play Midwestern State, Thursday, February 10th for a 6:30pm MT tip-off.

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 & Instagram).