SILVER CITY, N.M. – The Aggie men's basketball team went cold in the second half in their 69-56 loss to Western New Mexico on Saturday evening.
Cameron entered Saturday needing to win all four of their remaining games to have a chance at the final Lone Star Conference Tournament spot, however their loss in a rematch with the Mustangs all but officially eliminated them from postseason contention.
The Aggies shot just 36.5 percent from the field in the game, going 7-24 from three and 11-22 from the foul line. They out-rebounded the home team by three boards, but turned the ball over 17 times, resulting in 22 points for their opposition.
Kenyon Holcombe recorded his first double-double of the season, leading the Aggies with 11 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three blocks.
Brock Schreiner added 10 points, seven rebounds, and two steals, while
Alex Gonzalez scored eight points off the bench.
Cameron trailed 7-0 before getting on the board for the first time of Saturday's contest. Schreiner then led a comeback that saw the Aggies go up 15-13 into the under-12 media timeout. After extending their lead to five, CU had to battle a WNMU answer that saw multiple tie scores in the final 10 minutes of the half. The Mustangs used a 5-0 run to put them up five, which is where their lead sat at the break, 37-32.
The Aggies hot over 41 percent in the opening half, going 5-12 from deep. However, the made just three of their eight free throw attempts while WNMU was 12-15 from the charity stripe in the opening 20 minutes of play. Schreiner had 10 points at the half and
Nikolaos Argyropoulos had seven.
Cameron struggled to hit shots in the second half. There were 2-12 from three and 8-14 from the free throw line while going just 30 percent from the floor. The Aggies were able to cut the WNMU lead to one with 17:15 to play, but by the 12-minute mark the Mustangs were able to capitalize on CU's poor shooting, extending their lead to 15 at its largest. Their 69-56 win evened up the season series between the two teams.
Joshuwon Johnson led WNMU with 16 points while Olamide Pedersen added 14 points, 10 rebounds, and three rejections of his own.
The Aggies are now 4-16 overall and 2-11 in Lone Star Conference games. They will close out the regular season with three straight home games next week, starting with UT Tyler on Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 7:30 p.m.
