SPEARFISH, S.D. – The New Mexico Highlands University Cowboys came out firing on all cylinders on Saturday night to jump out to a 12-1 lead in the opening minutes before the Yellow Jackets stormed back in second half to take the victory by nine points, 98-89. 

The leading scorer on season for the Yellow Jackets in senior guard, Tommy Earl, led the way for the Jackets with a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds on 6-of-15 shooting (9-10 FT). 

Sophomore, Myles Henry, was the top scorer for the Jackets on the night with 24 points which included a two-handed put-back dunk to close the second-half to allow the Jackets to get within 1-point at the break, down 42-41 at halftime.  Henry finished 7-of-12 on field goals and went 9-of-12 from the free-throw line. 

The Cowboys' athletic guard and UTEP transfer, Mannie Cass, did it all for his team and finished with a game-high 31 points and seven rebounds on 10-of-22 shooting.  Stuart Sullivan was second on his team with 16 points while Dom Baca had 14 points. 

As starting point-guard Brady Bisgaard remained sidelined with an injury, the veteran-guard, Julian Holliday, stepped-up to drop 13 points and seven rebounds while going 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. 

Riley Ryan also contributed 11 points and four rebounds on 4-for-8 shooting.  Junior, Cameron Anderson, went 4-of-7 from the field to give him nine points to go with five rebounds. 

BHSU dominated the glass with 46 rebounds to the Cowboys' 28.  The Yellow Jackets secured 20 offensive and 26 rebounds as NMHU had just eight offensive boards to go with 20 defensive rebounds. 

The Jackets shot 45.3-percent on the night (29-64 FG), while going 33-of-45 from the free-throw line (73.3-pct).  NMHU shot 46.8-percent as a team and went 10-of-30 from beyond the arch. 

With the win the Jackets move to 7-8 overall and 5-6 in RMAC play. 

The next game for the Yellow Jackets will come on the road at UC-Colorado Springs (9-6, 6-5 RMAC) on Friday, Jan. 24, 2014 at 7:30 p.m.

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