A high-intensity game between the Cowboys and the visiting University of New Mexico Lobos ended with a close final score of 93-91, win to the Cowboys.
The score was close throughout the entire game, with the lead changing nine times throughout the game and was brought to a tie a total of six times.
The Cowboys are ranked second in the Mountain West conference, with a record of 4-0 within the conference and 15-2 overall.
The Lobos are ranked last in Mountain West conference standings with an 0-6 conference loss streak and a 7-12 record overall.
Despite this disparity in rankings, the Lobos gave the Cowboys a classic run for their money over the entire length of the game, and were never further than seven points behind.
“This is a tough league, they worked hard and we worked hard.” said assistant coach Shaun Vandiver. “They played Colorado State to a six point game, none of these teams are gonna give up.”
This was evident to both teams as well as the 5,368 basketball fans in attendance at the Arena-Auditorium on Saturday night, as both teams were clearly playing at their peak, with the Lobos leading 15-14 by the first timeout only six minutes in.
This close trend continued for the rest of the half, with the Cowboys gaining their largest lead of the game towards the end of the first half, which finished with a difference of only 7 points, 41-34 Cowboys.
In the second half, sophomore forward Graham Ike went off for 18 points in the second half to end his game with 29 points and 15 rebounds, and lead the Cowboys in both stats.
Senior Drake Jefferies was responsible for three of the eight three-pointers scored by the Cowboys over the course of the game with a record of 3 for 5. Jefferies led Hunter Maldonaldo (1 for 2), and followed Brendan Wenzel (4 for 8).
The tension between the Cowboys and the Lobos also began to pick up in the second half, especially in the final three minutes of the game.
Compared to only 10 free throw point opportunities taken by the Cowboys in the first half, 25 were taken in the second half, with four of those squeezed into the last minute on the clock.
The Lobos made 9 of 11 free throw points over the course of the game, compared to 27 of 35 for the Cowboys.
