Men's Basketball | 2/10/2015 1:22:00 PM

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GUNNISON, Colo. – The Western State Colorado University men's and women's basketball teams continue RMAC action Friday and Saturday when the Mountaineers travel to New Mexico for two road games against Western New Mexico and New Mexico Highlands.
 
The Mountaineer women will begin a Friday doubleheader against WNMU at 5:30 p.m. in Silver City before the men take on the Mustangs at 7:30 p.m. Western will then head to Las Vegas the following day for a 5:30 p.m. matchup against the Cowgirls before the men follow at 7:30.
 
The Western women (4-17, 3-14 RMAC) are coming off two close defeats last weekend to Chadron State (70-60) and Black Hills State (55-49).
 
"I thought we fought hard last weekend, and I saw progress in what we did," said head women's basketball coach Van Girard. "The goal is to continue to improve."
 
The Mountaineers will look to go for the season sweep over the two New Mexico foes after recording a 76-66 double overtime victory over NMHU and a 75-64 win over WNMU at home in December.
 
Forward Jade McIntosh (Sr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) leads Western this season with 12.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, ranking in the top-15 in the league in both categories.
 
For WNMU (12-9, 9-8 RMAC), senior guard Ashley Mitchell paces the Lady Mustangs with 12.8 points for 12^th in the conference while senior guard RaTanya Newsome leads the league with 5.9 assists and 2.5 steals per game.
 
Senior guard Anngelina Sanchez leads the Cowgirls (5-16, 4-13 RMAC) with 13.2 points per game for 10^th-best in the RMAC. Senior guard Jenny Johnson has recorded a league-best 48.2 percentage (41-of-85) from behind the arc as one of three Cowgirls shooting over 35 percent from long range this season.
 
The Mountaineer men (3-18, 2-15 RMAC) battled both Chadron State and Black Hills State before dropping a 94-83 decision to the Eagles and a 65-57 game to the Yellow Jackets last weekend.
 
Western earned a split last time around with a 63-59 victory over WNMU and a 77-68 defeat to NMHU.
 
"Western New Mexico is a tough place to play, and for us, it's about getting off to a good start," said head men's basketball coach Bradd Schafer. "We've had 17 of our 21 games that have been decided on average in the last five minutes this season. It's about getting off to a good start and finishing strong. We did some things down the stretch to win (against Western New Mexico), but against New Mexico Highlands it was a back-and-forth battle for about 35 minutes and then the last five minutes we had some mistakes. We just need to make sure we're putting together two full basketball games."
 
Guard Mason Biddle (Sr., Riverside, Calif.) leads the Mountaineers with 18.4 points, sixth in the RMAC, and 4.3 assists, good enough for fifth in the league. Against CSC, Biddle recorded a season-high 31 points while totaling five boards, four assists and four steals for Western.
 
Senior forward Marcos Castrillo paces the Mustangs (2-19, 2-15 RMAC) with 12.6 points with senior guard Terrez Scott ranking third in the conference with 4.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
 
The Cowboys (4-17, 4-13 RMAC) have placed two players inside the top-10 in scoring in the RMAC with junior guard Kendrick Nichols leading NMHU with 18.3 points while junior guard Jonathon Mines has averaged 17.8 points on the season.
 
Following their road trip to New Mexico, the Mountaineers will close out the season with a three-game homestand, beginning Saturday, Feb. 21 against Colorado Mesa.