Workin' overtime: Cowboys own extra sessions vs. CSM, CCU

Takin’ care of business and workin’ overtime.

With a nod to ‘70s supergroup Bachman-Turner Overdrive, that’s what the Highlands Cowboys (10-3 overall, 4-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) spent the weekend doing in a two-night homestand against league foes Colorado School of Mines and Colorado Christian.

NMHU beat CSM 93-85 on Friday night, then defeated CCU 63-58 on Saturday. Both games spilled into overtime, delighting the Wilson Complex crowds.

Chris Dunn had a monster night against CSM, accounting for 25 points and 10 rebounds.

Roman Andrade also had a good night; he followed a Dunn jumper by making one of two free throws to knot the score at 80 apiece with 1:04 left in regulation Friday. After Pojoaque alumnus Ryan Gonzales came up with a steal, Andrade had a couple of shots at taking the lead go awry before time ran out.

Jerard Moret’s old-fashioned three-point play gave the Cowboys an 83-80 lead to start overtime; it also launched a 13-5 run that would include another three-point play, one by teammate Rashad Peterson.

Andrade finished with 24 points, seven boards, five assists and four steals. Peterson (14) and Moret (11) also scored in doubles.

The Orediggers also had four players finish in double digit scoring: Casey O’Hayre (17), Jacob Case (15), Kyle Pape (15) and Sandia Prep grad Dale Minschwaner (11), who took part (along with NMHU’s Ryan Gonzales, Erik Geyer and redshirt Kenny Lucero) in North-South festivities this past July.

Highlands trailed CCU by a deuce before Mindaugas Markevicus made two free throws with 4:33 left to tie the game at 54. Neither side could score before the end of regulation, and a perimeter jumper by Roman Andrade went off the mark in the closing seconds.

Rashad Peterson opened the extra session with a three-pointer and NMHU retained control the rest of the way.

Andrade had 23 points and five assists. Markevicus added 15 points, and Chris Dunn had seven points, 10 rebounds and six blocks before fouling out. Robertson alumnus Justin “Mayo” Montoya scored 5 points and had one assist.

For CCU, Brendan Puckett (19) and Jordan Long (10) scored in double figures.

The Cowboys outshot the Cougars 44 percent to 34 percent. CCU went 10 of 22 from long distance in regulation but missed all five outside shots in overtime.

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Following a non-league road win at Oklahoma Panhandle State, the Highlands Cowgirls (2-11, 0-5 RMAC) endured a couple of lopsided defeats against Mines and CCU.

The Oredigger women won 71-51 on Friday, and the Cougar women romped 84-49 the next evening.

Robertson alumnus Jessica Armijo led the Cowgirls with 11 points against CSM Friday, while Oliana Seanoa had 10. But Highlands was held to 28 percent shooting while the Orediggers hit at a respectable 41 percent clip. Peanut Eickelman tallied 11 points and Emily Dalton had 7 points and 10 rebounds for Mines.

CSM led 35-25 at intermission.

Led by a barrage from Talmai Aguirre, the Cougars went up by double digits midway through the first half on Saturday. By half, the visitors had doubled the Cowgirls up 40-20.

It would get worse for NMHU. Aguirre nailed a three-pointer at the 11:37 mark in the second half to give CCU its largest lead at 72-30.

Poor shooting again afflicted the Cowgirls, held to 24 percent accuracy overall and 19 percent from three-point land. Conversely, the Cougars were hot, connecting on 48 and 50 percent, respectively, and they also sank 71 percent of their free throws (20 of 28).

Aguirre finished with a weekend-high 29 points, including five three-pointers. Abby Rosenthal was a perfect inside force to complement Aguirre’s outside prowess, collecting 13 points and 15 rebounds. Ainsley Barratt (11), Audrey Finley (10) and Holly Valdez (10) also scored in doubles for CCU.

Armijo (12) and Seanoa (10) again led NMHU, but neither shot well. Veronica Lerma of Santa Fe added 9 and Patricia Lewis 8.

Both Highlands teams hit the road to Denver this coming weekend, playing at Regis on Friday and Metro State on Saturday.