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MUSTANGS SWEEP BILLINGS

Silver City, NM – Western New Mexico University’s Men’s Basketball team continued its torrent pace Saturday as the Mustangs claimed their second win in three days over Montana-State Billings before a rowdy home crowd. The Mustangs controlled the game throughout, leading by 10 points at the half and holding that margin at the end to take a 87-77 victory over the Yellowjackets. WNMU improved to 6-12 (3-5) and Billings slid to 12-6 (4-4). Western won Thursday night’s battle 89-87.

Billings suffered another cold shooting night, making just 36 percent of their attempts while WNMU converted almost 45 percent. The Mustangs went 23-30 for 75 percent from the free throw line while Billings struggled at 7-of-13 for just 53 percent. Billings out-rebounded WNMU 49-39.

Red-shirt freshman Jason Jackson (Albuquerque) led the way for WNMU with 25 points. Matt Enriquez (El Paso, TX) scored 18 while Senior Jury Simien (Houston, TX) chipped in 14. Billings’ Cameron Muñoz led Billings with an exceptional 28-point night. Trae Fortier netted a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Bill Day added 10 points in the losing effort.

Prior to Thursday night’s WNMU victory, WNMU’s last win over the Yellowjackets came in 1996. Last year saw Billings score 143 points in their last meeting.

WNMU gets a week off before hosting Hawaii Pacific on February 10

MUSTANGS KNOCK OFF HILO

Silver City, NM – Western New Mexico University’s Men’s Basketball team got its first Pacific West Conference win of the season Saturday as they upset visiting University of Hawaii-Hilo a 77-70 in front of a boisterous home crowd. WNMU improved to 4-12 (1-5 PacWest) and Hilo, in the midst of a four-game slide, fell to 11-5 (3-4 PacWest).

The Vulcans took a three-point advantage to the halftime locker room, but WNMU came out and closed the gap, then suffered a six-minute cold streak before regaining control of the game. Hilo managed just 34-percent from the field  on the night and 59-percent from the free throw line. Western shot a solid 50-percent from the field and 76-percent from the charity stripe. 

The Mustangs led by as many as 12 points late in the game, but Hilo closed the gap to within five with less than a minute left. Forced to foul, Western’s good fortune continued from the line and they finished with the final seven-point margin.

junior guard Brendon Malone (El Paso, TX) led all scorers with 19 points, including 11-of-12 from the free throw line. Matt Enriquez (El Paso, TX) checked in with 16 and Adam Grimes (Farmington, NM) looked extremely sharp in finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

 Hawaii-Hilo was paced by Kimo Keiter-Charles’ 15-point effort. Ryan Abrams was next at 14 points and Joe Travis checked in with 10.

 The two teams meet again Monday night.

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MUSTANGS CONTINUE SLIDE

Silver City, NM -- Western New Mexico University’s Men’s Basketball continued its poor shooting of late and fell to visiting Chaminade 61-52 in Silver City. It was the second-straight loss to the Silver Swords for the Mustangs, who also fell 98-75 on Tuesday. The Mustangs slipped to 3-12 and 0-5 in the PacWest while Chaminade improved its mark 5-10 overall and 2-3 in Conference play.

Western, who shot just 33 percent from the field in the game was led by Matt Enriquez’s 17-point night. Jason Jackson added 10 points in the losing effort.

Former Mustang Nick Frey led the Silver Swords with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Donald Rogers added 11 points for Chaminade, who shot 47 percent from the floor and 83 percent from the free throw line.

Western will continue its Conference home stand on January 24 when they entertain Hawaii Hilo.

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MUSTANGS BEAT ANGELO

Silver City, NM – Western New Mexico University’s Men’s Basketball team got revenge on Angelo State Tuesday as the Mustangs took an impressive win over the visiting Rams 83-76. WNMU improved to 3-8, while Angelo State slipped to 7-3.  ASU defeated WNMU on December 15, 85-56 in San Angelo.

The game went back and fourth throughout with each team owning as much as an 11-point lead at one point in the game. The first half seemed be controlled by Angelo and the Mustangs took command in the second half. Angelo State out rebounded the locals 43-39, but suffered two more turnovers in a game that saw the officials get plenty of air-time with their whistles. WNMU managed an average 43 percent shooting from the field, while the Rams could manage just 39.

El Pasoans Brendon Malone and Matt Enriquez led the way for WNMU with 17 and 16 points respectively, while Albuquerque natives James Newell and Jason Jackson checked in with 13 and 10 point nights.

Angelo’s Kenny Smith was the top-gun for the Rams with a 20-point effort while Joe Adams and Heath Bailey added 11 and 10 points in a losing effort.        

The Mustangs will start PacWest Conference play on January 6 with a match against BYU-Hawaii, perhaps the country’s best Division II basketball program. WNMU will see the Seasiders twice in Laie before heading to Honolulu for a January 10 meeting with Hawaii Pacific in Honolulu.

Angelo State hosts Southwestern Oklahoma State on January 3.

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MUSTANGS SWEEP NMHU

Western New Mexico University’s Men’s Basketball team got its second win of the season Tuesday night with a 94-91 nail-biter over in-state rival New Mexico Highlands in Silver City. WNMU (2-2, 0-0) has defeated Highlands both times during the team’s annual home-and-home series this season. Highlands slipped to 2-4. 

The Mustangs got off to a quick 8-0 start, but Highlands roared back  off excellent three-point shooting by Terrance Miraba,l and the Cowboys led at the intermission 50-48. The game had several lead changes in the second half but the Cowboys could not hold on, despite shooting an impressive 54% from the field to WNMU’s 43%. 

WNMU was paced by a career high 40 points from sophomore Matt Enriquez (El Paso, Bel Air HS), who went 14-for-23 in field goals, 6-of-11 from the 3pt line and 6-of-10 from the charity stripe. Redshirt Freshman Jason Jackson (Albuquerque, Highland HS) had a career-high 18 points and Sophomore James Newell (Albuquerque, Albuquerque HS) chipped in 10. Sophomore Adam Grimes (Farmington, Farmington HS) led the Mustangs with 12 rebounds while Jerry Martinez, another redshirt freshman from Albuquerque (Albuquerque HS), cleared 10 boards on the night.

MUSTANGS  GET FIRST WIN AT HIGHLANDS

Las Vegas, NM -- Despite a 35-point effort from NMHU's Jamaal Weaver, New Mexico Highlands lost to in-state rival Western New Mexico on a last second shot to  86-84, giving WNMU their first win of the season. 

Highlands (0-3) led most of the first half, but eight turnovers by the Cowboys and Western's 11-2 run just before halftime allowed the Mustangs to take a 39-32 lead into the break.

The second half saw eight lead changes and four more turnover by Highlands as the Cowboys were able to fight back to tie the game less than two minutes into the second half. Both teams fought neck and neck throughout, led by 18 points by Weaver, but a shot by Western's Adam Grimes as time ran out gave the Mustang's the win.

Western New Mexico (1-2) was led by Jerry Martinez who scored 20 points in the game. Martinez was 8-for-9 shooting, including 3-for-3 from behind the 3-point line. Western shot 54 percent from 3-point territory in the first half and 44 percent in the game.

Highlands had their best shooting performance on the season, hitting 42 percent from the field, while Western New Mexico shot 44 percent.

CSU-PUEBLO KNOCK OFF STANGS -- AGAIN

Pueblo, CO-- Colorado State University extended it win streak to four with a decisive 83-61 victory over WNMU Monday night. It was the Thunderwolves second-straight win over the Mustangs (0-2).

WNMU hadn't played in a week and CSUP had played three times in six days, but fatigue wasn't a factor. In fact, the Purple Gang from Silver City got in town Sunday, had a shoot-around and looked linen-fresh during Monday's warmup, but the T-Wolves just took care of business. CSU-P got a leg up with some early deadeye shooting for an 11-0 lead and later used a 30-2 run in the second half to claim an 83-61 victory.

The Mustangs were led by Matt Enriquez (El Paso, Bel Air HS), with 24 points. WNMU  had only one other double digit scorer, forward Jason Jackson's  (Albuquerque, Highland HS) 13. The Thunderwolf defense held Western to 40.4 percent shooting accuracy from the floor, notching 17 turnovers.

MUSTANGS FALL IN DEBUT

Silver City, NM – Western New Mexico University’s Men’s basketball team fell 88-61 to the Colorado State University – Pueblo (formerly the University of Southern Colorado), Monday night in Silver City in their 2003-04 debut. CSU-P moved to 1-0 on the season, although the ThunderWolves dropped an exhibition game to Division I Denver University last week. 

The two teams battled fairly evenly for much of the first half, but CSU-P’s defensive adjustments were too much for the Mustangs for the rest of the game. Sophomore Matt Enriquez (El Paso, TX) led the way for the Mustangs with 18 points and six rebounds. James Newell (Albuquerque) chipped in 14 points and three rebounds while Jason Jackson (Albuquerque) added 11 points on the night. 

The Thunderwolves were paced by Alfred Sanchez’s 20-point night.  The two teams meet again on November 24 in Pueblo.

COACH COLEMAN LOOKS TO FUTURE

Incoming Head Coach Mark Coleman has his eyes on the future with the 2003-04 roster.  The Mustangs welcome back returning starters Matt Enriquez, Jury Simien, and Brendon Malone who will bring a solid core to the team.  "I am excited for the opportunity to coach at Western, there is a good nucleus of returnee's and a mix of youth and experience.  We will play hard, play good solid defense, and look to win as a team.", commented Coach Coleman, "We have a very difficult schedule, and we will look to be as competitive as possible night in and night out." 

News: Men's Basketball
August 1, 2003
COLEMAN COMPLETES COACHING STAFF

Joining the Mustang Basketball staff is Assistant Coach Vance Sather. Sather is preparing to begin his first season at WNMU. Most recently, Sather was the Assistant Coach at Pierce College a JuCo in Lakewood, WA. A former Head Coach at Southwestern Adventist University in Texas and Walla Walla College in College Place,WA Sather brings a wealth of experience to the Mustang bench. 

Rounding off the coaching staff is Student Assistant Fernie Sanchez.  Sanchez moves over form the WNMU women's program.  His experience includes two years as a student assistant in the UTEP men's basketball program, and one year as the head coach at Santa Teresa High School.          

News: Men's Basketball
May 8, 2003
MARK COLEMAN HIRED AS HEAD MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH

Coleman comes to WNMU from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, where he had been the head coach for the past eight seasons.  In 1996-97 he earned Coach of the Year honors for leading the Rangers to a 19-9 record and their first ever ECAC Championship.

A 1983 graduate of St. Lawrence University, Coleman was a team captain and MVP as a senior.  He was also a three-year all-conference selection and led the Saints to two NCAA III Tournament appearances.

Coleman spent eight years as an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh, where he handled much of the recruiting and scouting for the Panthers.  While at Pittsburgh he helped guide the team to five NCAA and two NIT appearances as well as two Big East titles.  Prior to his tenure at Pittsburgh, Coleman served as an assistant coach at Canisius College, the University of Vermont, and George Mason University, where he coached the team to its first NIT appearance in school history.  Throughout his 17 years of coaching, Coleman has coached seven NBA players, including former New York Knick Charles Smith and the Vancouver Grizzlies' Eric Mobley