HOBBS, NM---Looking to bounce back from a loss to Huston-Tillotson on Thursday night, the Mustang Basketball program welcomed the Our Lady of the Lake Saints to Hobbs, America. The Mustangs came out victorious on Saturday night thanks to a complete team effort and 5 players in double-figure scoring. USW defeated OLLU 93-71 pushing their record to 6-6 on the season and 1-1 in conference. 

"The guys really stepped up and played great tonight." said Head Coach Cory Hitchcock." They applied a lot of pressure defensively in the second half which allowed us to get out and run. To hold their team to 30 points in the second half is a big accomplishment for our squad. It shows they did the little things for us to be successful. I'm also proud of the way they shared the ball tonight. I love looking at the box score and seeing five guys in double figures and twenty-six assists. Now it's time for us to grow from this win and put another good win together. Stringing wins together is a sign of a good team and that's what we are striving to be."

This was the most complete game the Mustangs have played all season as they 26 assists and only 14 turnovers. The defense kept pressure on OLLU forcing 15 turnovers and grabbing 7 steals. They held OLLU to 40% shooting from the field and outrebounded the Saints 40-25.  USW was 37-64 (57.8%) from the field and shot 42% (6-14) from beyond the arc.

The Mustangs had 5 players in double-figures and were led by true freshman Thurbil Bile who scored a career-high 20 points on 10-12 shooting from the field. The Aurora, Colorado native also had 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block and 1 steal. Akeem Black matched Bile in points with 20 of his own. Black coming off a 25 point performance against Huston-Tillotson on Thursday, dished out a team-high 8 assists and grabbed 4 rebounds. Joshua Harris aka the "Silent Assassin" according to Head Coach Cory Hitchcock, had another outstanding all around night with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 2 steals. Cortez Williams Jr. (16 points--5 assists) and Derrick Hall (12 points---5 assists) were the other Mustangs with double-digit scoring nights. 

The Mustangs are back in action next Saturday afternoon as they host Paul Quinn College at 4:00 PM MST. The contest will be streamed through the Mustang TV Network.