by Michael Rowse
It was a battle of two teams with unbeaten records in the RMAC, albeit after only two games have been played. The Mustangs went into Gunnison CO to take on the Mavericks of Colorado Mesa with the best defense in the conference. Mesa boasts one of the best offenses in the RMAC, hitting for 79 points a game. It was set up to be an epic battle, and it was with Mesa needing a shot with 4 seconds to go to take the lead and the win 58-57 over the Mustangs.
Mesa got off to a quick start hitting their first shot but the Mustangs answered quickly as Lucio Luttrell nailed a jumper. It was a sign of things to come as WNMU was hitting their shots at a torrid 55% clip early, taking a 5 point lead at 9-4. The Stangs would continue to shoo the ball well, but Mesa would close the half on a 9-1 run to end the first stanza with a 34-29 lead.
While the WNMU shooters cooled off somewhat, Chad Carter sparked a 6-0 run out of intermission with a pair of free throws followed by Juan Saurez layup and a jumper from Luttrell. Western had the lead once again. The teams would battle back and forth with the score tied 7 times over the next 8-9 minutes. Then the Mustang shooters went cold and the Mavs went on a 10-2 run to take a 53-45 lead with five minutes to go. The raucous home crowd began to smell victory but Te Branch and the Mustangs would have something to say about that.
Branch hit a mid range jumper and the teams would trade baskets as Western would pull within three a couple of times. Colton Burgon would answer for the Mavs as they built the lead to 7 with three minutes to go. Branch hit a shot followed by a pair of Luttrell free throws. Mesa missed the front end of a one and one free throw shot and missed a three point shot. Luttrell then hit another bucket and the Stangs were within 3 with 1:20 left on the clock.
The Stangs caused a Mavs turnover on the next possession and Carter got to the line with :45 left, nailing both shots from the charity stripe brining WNMU witthin one point at 55-56. The Mustang defense turned up the heat once again, forcing CMU to take an off balance three point shot which clanked off the rim. Western's Juan Suarez took it coast to coast for the lay up and the Mustangs had the lead, 57-56 with :17 to go. After a time out, the Mustang defense answered the call again forcing Paul Walther to take a bad 15 foot jumper which missed its target. Colton Burgon would clear some room in the lane and grab the rebound, laying it back in for a Mesa 58-57 lead.
Coach Coleman called a time out with 4.4 left on the clock. After the inbounds pass was almost stolen, Suarez fought down the court finding himself at the top of the key in the middle of a triple team. Despite all of the contact and being pushed hard to his left, Suarez got off a wild shot at the buzzer but couldn't get the ball in the bucket.
WNMU falls to 3-4, 2-1 in the RMAC while Mesa improves to 6-1, 3-0 in conference play. Western will be back on the floor tonight against Western State College in Gunnison CO. The Mountaineers improved to 3-0 in RMAC play with a double digit win over NM Highlands last night. The game can be heard on KSCQ 92.9 FM locally and around the world at www.silvercitysports.com. beginning at 7 p.m. MST.
