HOBBS, NM---The Mustang Basketball program opens up Red River Athletic Conference play tonight as they host the Huston-Tillotson Rams at 7:30 MST at 'The Dox'. USW is coming off a tough stretch which featured matchups with 6 NCAA Division 2 schools including #5 West Texas A&M and a victory over (RV) New Mexico Highlands. The Mustangs come into conference play with a 5-5 record which includes 2 losses to NAIA #3 Wayland Baptist. Head Coach Cory Hitchcock wanted his guys to play a tough pre-conference schedule because he knows that the RRAC is the best conference in NAIA Basketball and they will be playing tough teams each and every night. "The games prepare and challenge us.  Our conference is tough and by playing tough non-conference opponents it gives us an opportunity to improve but it also allows us to see how we handle adversity when things may not go our way." said Hitchcock. 

A key theme for the Mustangs early on in the season has been defense. When Hitchcock took over the program last spring, he knew that to compete at a high-level in this conference, they would need to be able to play tough defense against very talented teams. Hitchcock believes that defense should never sleep and if things aren't going your way offensively, being able to rely on stingy defense will keep you in ball games long enough for shots to fall. "If we want to give ourselves a chance to be one of the top six teams in conference, we must show up and play tough defense every game.  When we play tough hard nose defense we are successful but when we slack off on the defensive end we are not.  It's my job to make sure we stay on top of these guys and make defense a priority every time we hit the floor.  If we play defense the way I know we can consistently during conference, we can have a big year." said Hitchcock on the Mustangs defense. 

Hitchcock took over a program that won only 5 games last season and this 2019-2020 squad has already matched that. But the Colorado native knows that building a program up to his standards isn't an overnight change. It has taken hours of hard work in the preseason and even more work during the season getting the guys to buy in. Hitchcock believes that the program is headed in the right direction and is on the cusp of becoming a great program in this conference. "We are in a good spot right now." said Hitchcock. "The guys are working hard, they have bought in to what it takes to work hard and they are taking care of the little things on and off the court.  I have been really impressed with the way the guys have responded since the beginning of the year.  Each day they are taking more and more pride and ownership in the way they show up and play.  Our captains are starting to be the leaders we need them to be and the team is really starting to gel and play for one another.  The next step for us is consistency.  We can't keep having these roller coaster games where we play good for a game or two then bad for a game or two.  Once we start becoming a consistent team, we will start to see a lot of good things happen for our program." 

USW hosts Huston-Tillotson University at 7:30 PM MST right here on the campus of USW inside 'The Dox'. The game will be streamed through Mustang TV. 

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