GOLDEN, Colo. - A late basket by New Mexico Highlands helped the Cowboys escape Colorado School of Mines with a 74-72 win on Saturday.

The Orediggers (14-8, 10-5 RMAC) had battled back from seven down to tie the game on back-to-back three-pointers from Brendan Sullivan and Michael Glen, but the Cowboys' (14-6, 9-6 RMAC) Patrik Boloz layup with 17 second remaining to win.

Four Mines starters ended up in double digits led by Sullivan's 16 points, while Titus Reed poured in 15 and Mason Baker 12. Michael Glen added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Sammy Barnes-Thompkins led all scorers with 27 points before being ejected on a flagrant-2 with 3:23 remaining in the game. Raquan Mitchell drained 24 points, while no other Cowboy had more than six.

Both teams enjoyed healthy stretches of the lead as Mines was up as much as 11 early in the game, but NMHU eventually flipped the score around to lead by as much as eight, 66-58, with 7:18 to go in the first.

A Glen three-pointer cut into the deficit, and after Sullivan and Mitchell traded layups to make ti 72-66 NMHU, Sullivan and Glen drilled consecutive threes to make it a 72-72 game with 49 seconds left. After a timeout, the 7-3 Boloz muscled his way to a layup to lead with 17 seconds left, and Mines had a look at a final shot on Baker's contested three-pointer, but did not get a foul call as the attempt was off target at the buzzer.

NOTABLES
- Mines shot .473 for the game to NMHU's .444; both teams sank 11 three-pointers. The Cowboys, however, took eight more shots than Mines (63 to 55) thanks to 14 Mines turnovers and a 9-6 offensive rebounding advantage.
- Mines held a 35-33 rebounding edge overall.
- The Cowboys are the RMAC's #1 scoring team at 90.3 points per game, but were held to their second-lowest total of the year.
- Both Baker and Sullivan added six rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block to their point totals.
- Reed and Kobi Betts had two blocks each.

NEXT UP
Mines flips around the RMAC schedule to visit Chadron State on Friday.