On Thursday night New Mexico Military Institute suffered a 56-49 loss to Western Texas College in the Cahoon Armory Gym. With the loss, the Broncos dipped to 2-6 in conference play with a 10-12 overall record. With the win, Western Texas improves to 13-10 overall with a 5-4 mark in conference play.

Kelvin John scored the first points of the contest to give the Broncos a quick 2-0 lead. However, in the next three minutes Western Texas conducted a 9-3 run to take a 9-5 lead with the help of a three by Isak Homelius. The Broncos created a quick 7-3 run, forcing the first tie of the game at 12-12 with a jumper by David Popa with 9:49 remaining in the half.

Sinking both shots at the free throw line, Carlos Mata gave the Broncos their largest lead of the game at the 19-15 mark with 7:26 on the clock. NMMI closed out the half on an 8-11 run as they headed into halftime with a slim 27-26 lead.

In the first 10 minutes of the second half, Western Texas jumped out to a 16-point lead to enjoy a 46-30 advantage. As Western attempted to extend their lead, the Broncos battled to cut the deficit to just eight points with 2:55 remaining in the game and a turnaround jumper by David Popa.

However, Western Texas did not break as another late shot by David Popa cut the lead to just four points 53-49 with just under 40 seconds to go. After a plethora of fouls, the visitors were able to secure the 56-49 win on the road.

Head Coach Sean Schooley on the loss, "disappointed in our effort tonight as a whole. We came out flat, with no energy and that really hurt us throughout the game," Schooley said. "We have to be better in the little things, better at the free throw line … better with our shot selection and better decision making," Schooley said. "We have tomorrow to work on some stuff before Odessa on Saturday and come out with a lot more effort on both ends," Schooley said.

UP NEXT

The Broncos return to action on Saturday, February 7 when they host Odessa College at 3 p.m. in the Cahoon Armory Gym.