SILVER CITY, N.M. – The Western New Mexico University Men's Basketball team to finally returned to Silver City for the first time this year, hosting St. Mary's. After a slow start the Mustangs fell 76-63 to the Rattlers.
 
This puts the Mustangs at 2-4 (0-1).
 
Two Mustangs managed double-digits on the Rattlers. Allen Fordham (Far Rockaway, NY/Queens High School For Technology) dropped 17 points, including five from deep. Donovan Black (Las Cruces, NM/Del Valle High School) added 13, including 6-6 from the charity stripe. 
 
Points in the paint would hamper the Mustangs. WNMU was outscored 46-22 in the paint. 

The Mustangs shot 7-29 (24%) from the field and 4-15 (26%) from deep in the first half. WNMU finished the game shooting 19-57 (33%) and 7-23 (30%) from three. The Rattlers would shoot 28-57 (49%) from the field and 5-17 (29%) from behind the arc for the game.
 
At the charity stripe the Mustangs went 18-25 (72%) and the Rattlers shot 15-23 (65%).

On the boards LaMarqus Merchant Jr. (Utica, NY/Utica Academy of Science) snagged eight rebounds each. Merchant Jr. dished out six assists on the evening.

In the defensive department, Merchant Jr. and Nik Atanasovs (Riga, Latvia/Vidusskloa) recorded two steals each. James McCallum (Long Beach, CA./St. Bernard's High School), Donovan Black (Las Cruces, NM/Del Valle High School), and Fordham had a block a piece. 
 
The Mustangs began the first half extremely slow as they began the game 1-15. They found themselves trailing 20-2 with 8:37 left in the half before settling in. The Mustangs ensued to go on a 21-9 run, trimming the lead to six points. St. Mary's responded with a 12-3 run to close out the half 41-26. 

In the second half the Rattlers kept the Mustangs at an 11-poinr disadvantage for most of the half. With just under four play, free throws by Aaron Miller (Queens Village, NY/Benjamin Cardozo High School) made it a single-digit game. St. Mary's held on strong, leading wire to wire for a 76-63 win over the Mustangs.
 
Keith Dinwiddie lead the Rattlers with 19 points shooting splits of 7-9 and 4-6 from deep. Franklin Agu added 12 points. 
 
Top Mustangs:


Allen Fordham (Far Rockaway, NY/Queens High School For Technology): 17 points, 6-14 FGs, 5-10 3FGs
 
Donovan Black (Las Cruces, NM/Del Valle High School): 13 points
 
The Mustangs will be in action next Saturday, December 2^nd (2:00 PM MT).