HOBBS, NM – The University of the Southwest Men's basketball team gave a determined effort, but came up short of beating Huston-Tillotson University falling 95-93 on Thursday at the Jack and Mabel Maddox Student Life Center.

Josh Harris (24 points 10-15 shooting) and Rontrell Hills (24 points 9-18 shooting) combined to score over half of the Mustang's points (48 points) for the game to lead the teams scoring effort, however Christian Wilson (14-22 shooting) scored a game high 41 points for the visiting Rams.

The Mustangs raced to a early eight point lead at 21-13, to start the game, but the Rams continued to chip away at the lead and eventually led by 5 points at halftime 48-43. The Mustangs hot shooting continued as of late, shooting 60% for the 1st half, however 11 turnovers helped contribute to the Rams scoring effort with twelve points.

The start of the second half, saw the Mustangs make the first two baskets to cut the lead to one at 47-48, as the teams traded baskets back and forth until the 04:28 mark, when the Mustangs tied the game with a Free-Throw by Demond Parker (20 points, 7-9 shooting) at 81-81. The game's major turning point came at the 01:50 mark when the Rams (4-3) hit a 3FG to extend their lead to six. The Mustangs, then hit a key 3FG with 0:19 seconds remaining with the score 92-90. The Mustangs then forced a Ram turnover, and had the ball underneath their basket and a chance to tie the game or take the lead, but failed to inbounds the ball leading to their eighteenth turnover of the game. After fouling Christian Wilson the Rams extended their lead back to four points, however, a Rams foul and two key free throws by USW's Rontrell Hills brought the Mustangs back to within two, 94-92 with 0:13 left to play.

After a Rams missed Free-Throw in the Double Bonus, the Mustangs had a chance to tie the game with 0:11 seconds remaining and the score 95-92, the Mustangs brought the ball across half-court and called timeout with 0:09 seconds remaining. The Mustangs had a wide-open 3FG hit the front iron as the Rams avoided overtime and held on to win.

"We were right there down the stretch to take it but turnovers continue to be our achilles heel this year, and that hopefully we will continue to improve in that area," USW head coach Timm Dixon said. "We got off to great start and then settled down and went toe to toe with them for most of the game. We countered their man offense by switching to a zone and forced them to shoot a lot of contested three point shots. We were basically even on the boards. It was a one-possession game and I thought that their experience won out. They caused some turnovers we shouldn't have had and that is a great learning point for us.

"I thought we competed fantastically and it just shows this team how good they are and how good they are going to be. We just have to be more disciplined in taking care of the ball."

The Mustangs shot 57% for the game inside the arc, and 43% from beyond, while out-rebounding the Rams 42-40 and holding them to 45% shooting (40% in second half) for the game. The Mustangs continue to be one of the best 3FG percentage defensive teams in the nation (29th ranked) and held the rams to 30% from beyond the arc for the game.

The Mustangs (3-7, 1-2 RRAC) continue play on Saturday (4:00 p.m. MT) when they take on University of St Thomas (7-3, 1-1 RRAC) at home in the Jack and Mabel Maddox Center. The game will not be live-streamed or have media coverage.