LAWTON, OKLA. – The Western New Mexico University Men's Basketball team continued their road trip with a game against Cameron University. After a strong second half the Mustangs would defeat the Aggies 70-66.
This puts the Mustangs at 9-5 (3-5).
"Road wins are really hard to come by," said Head Coach Zane Gibson. " They get even harder when it comes to a league like ours."
Four Mustangs managed to score in double-digits tonight. Keith Littles (Augusta, GA/) was the Mustangs leading scorer on the night with 16-points on 6-9 shooting. Joshuwan Johnson (Phoenix, AZ/Maricopa High School) would chip in 12 points including 7-8 from the charity stripe. Amarion Cash (Phoenix, AZ/Mountain Pointe HS) would contribute a season-high 11 points including three 3s. Tony Avalos (Las Cruces, NM/Onate HS) would add 10 points.
The Mustang bench and their paint dominance would be the difference makers. Avalos' 10 bench points would help the Mustangs outscore the Aggies 24-11. The Mustangs would also win the battle in the paint 34-24.
WNMU would also outrebound Cameron 43-33.
Camron would win the turnover battler 20-15 on the Mustangs.
On the boards, Isaiah Lewis (Mansfield, TX/) led the way with 10 boards. Ian Hohenstein (Veracruz, Mexico/Faith Christian Academy) would snag nine rebounds and Olamide Pedersen (Bronshoj, Denmark/Sunrise Christian Academy) would add seven. Littles would dish out four assists on the night.
On defense Johnson would record a season-high four steals, while Avalos could get two. Pedersen would protect the rim with two blocks. This ranks Pedersen 7th in the nation with 31 blocks on the year.
"We played really well for 30 minutes today. We had a bad 10 minutes to end the first, but we came out in the second half and played really well," said Gibson.
In the first half the WNMU would shoot 34% from the field and 21% from behind the arc. WNMU would finish the game shooting 45% from the field and 27% from three. Cameron would shoot 37% for the game and 23% from behind the three-point line.
After a slow start, Cameron would take a 36-26 lead into the half. The Mustangs would regroup in the second half thanks to great minutes from Amarion Cash (Phoenix, AZ/Mountain Pointe HS) to outscore the Aggies 44-36 to secure a 70-66 victory.
"Amarion was great tonight. He came in and lifted the team in the second half," said Gibson.
Three Aggies would manage double-digits on the Mustangs. Caylen Goff-Brown would score a game-high 23 points. DeSean Munson added 13 points. Andre Washington would drop a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
"Our goal has been to put together a full 40 minutes. If we do that we will have a chance in every game, but if we don't our results will keep being up and down," said Gibson.
Top Mustangs:
Keith Littles (Augusta, GA/): 16 pts, 5 rebs, 4 asts
Joshuwan Johnson (Phoenix, AZ/Maricopa High School): 12 pts, 4 stls, 7-8 FTs
Amarion Cash (Phoenix, AZ/Mountain Pointe HS): 11 pts, 3 3FGs
Tony Avalos (Las Cruces, NM/Onate HS): 10 pts
Isaiah Lewis (Mansfield, TX/): 5 pts, 10 rebs
Ian Hohenstein (Veracruz, Mexico/Faith Christian Academy): 9 rebs
The Mustangs will hit the road next time they are in action against West Texas A&M on January 12th (6:00PM MT).
This game recap is presented by First American Bank. First American Bank is a proud supporter of WNMU Athletics!
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, TikTok & Instagram).
